EloElo raises $80M as AI runs 70-80% of microdrama workflows

EloElo Group, the Bengaluru company behind the microdrama app Story TV, said on Wednesday it raised $80 million in a Series C round co-led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, bringing its total funding to $130 million.

TechCrunch reported the round values EloElo at $500 million. Mint and Business Standard put the valuation at the same figure but attributed it to a person or people familiar with the matter, and Variety did not report a valuation. EloElo did not disclose one.

MIT Investment Co. joined the round alongside existing backers Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures and Griffin Gaming Partners, the company said. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial adviser. EloElo was founded in Bengaluru in 2020 by CEO Saurabh Pandey, a former Flipkart executive.

The number that carries the round sits inside the production process. Pandey told businessline that 70-80 percent of the workflows involved in making a microdrama are now AI-powered, which brought production costs to ₹15-17 lakh per drama. He gave the same share as around 70-75 percent to Business Standard, which reported the average cost has stayed "within the $15,000 range." At the rupee's close of 94.58 to the dollar on November 4, per The Hindu, ₹15-17 lakh is about $15,900 to $18,000 per drama.

EloElo now makes about 250 microdramas a month, up from two or three a day, and releases a new title every three hours, Pandey said. The automation stops short of the cast, he told Mint. "AI has not really replaced a great quality actor or a crew. AI has replaced VFX and location costs in that sense," he said.

"Story TV shows us what India wants to watch, and Dolphin AI gives us the economics to make it, which is how we have scaled with solid unit economics," Pandey said.

The company will spend the money on original programming in Indian languages, an international launch of its microdramas that starts with the United States, and further work on Dolphin AI, its agentic AI video suite. Pandey told TechCrunch that EloElo has 240 employees and plans to hire for its AI, machine learning and generative AI engineering teams.

Story TV carries more than 5,000 microdramas in six languages, and its users spend an average of 95 minutes a day in the app, according to the company. EloElo said its apps have more than 40 million monthly active users combined; TechCrunch put Story TV's own active users at more than 33 million, citing analysts.

"The team's execution, financial discipline, and AI capabilities position it well for its next phase of growth," said Manoj Thakur, founder and managing partner of Hornbill Capital, which was set up in 2014 and has backed PhysicsWallah, KreditBee, Dhan and Nazara Technologies. Deepak Arya, executive vice president of corporate strategy and development at NBCUniversal, said the studio sees opportunity in mobile-first storytelling and emerging formats, and will bring its global capabilities to the partnership as EloElo expands beyond India, including into the U.S. market.

Microdramas are expected to generate $14 billion worldwide by the end of 2026, according to Omdia. Pandey estimated China accounts for $8-10 billion of the global market and India close to $700-800 million, per Business Standard. Redseer estimates 40 million Indians paid for a microdrama at least once in fiscal 2026, and Lumikai projects India's market could reach $4.5 billion by 2030. Competition includes Kuku TV, JioHotstar Tadka and Bullet.

Dolphin AI entered early access in September, a separate event from the funding. If a microdrama costs about $16,000 to $18,000 to make and 70-80 percent of the pipeline is automated, the constraint on a platform like Story TV moves from money to story quality. That is the bet NBCUniversal is making on the format, and it is the same per-title arithmetic that would decide whether Dolphin AI, which the company plans to open more widely, is useful to producers outside EloElo.

EloElo plans to file its FY26 results by December, Pandey said, and aims to more than double its microdrama slate over the next year.