Pocket FM has carried out a fresh round of layoffs, impacting around 10% of its workforce, sources told Entrackr. The move appears to be part of an effort to improve efficiency, with a focus on increasing revenue per staff.
"The layoffs have impacted roughly 100-130 employees across teams, and the company has internally described these exits as performance-related," said one of the sources, requesting anonymity.
Most affected employees, around 90-100, have accepted severance and are on notice without active roles. About 30-40 have been given time to improve performance. Sources said access to internal systems for these employees is likely to be restricted by July 2026.
Sources indicated this may not be the end of job cuts at Pocket FM. Another round could impact up to 15% of the workforce by June-end. "This may come ahead of a possible announcement around the company nearing $500 million in ARR, though plans are still under discussion," said another source who also wished not to be named.
Apart from layoffs, Pocket FM has also made changes to its contractual workforce structure which include designers, content writers and others. The company has partnered with Quess Corp to move over 2,000 contractual employees to the latter's payroll, according to sources. This shift is not being seen as a direct cost-cutting move but rather an attempt to improve revenue per employee and streamline operations.
Responding to Entrackr's queries, a Pocket FM spokesperson said that the information is factually incorrect and the company is not undertaking any company-wide layoffs. "Like any high-performance organisation, we regularly review performance, which may lead to role-specific changes. However, calling this large-scale layoffs is inaccurate." The company also denied any further layoff in the statement.
On Quess Corp, the firm said it works with external partners across functions as part of standard workforce practices to drive efficiency and focus on core priorities, and this should not be seen as restructuring or linked to layoffs.
Pocket FM, founded in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS, and Prateek Dixit, offers multilingual audio series and has expanded in markets like the US. It raised $103 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners in 2024 at a $750-800 million valuation and is now targeting $100-120 million at a $1.5-2 billion valuation.
Last month, in a LinkedIn post, Rohan Nayak said Pocket FM has reached $450 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). He added that while it took six years to cross $200 million ARR, the firm added another $200 million in just 12 months, driven by AI-led content creation and global expansion.
Pocket FM competes with Kuku FM, which raised $85 million in its Series D round last year, led by Granite Asia, and reported Rs 242 crore in revenue for FY25. It also competes with Pratilipi, which secured $20 million last year in a round led by Jungle Ventures.