New Delhi, Mar 20 (IANS): In a push to the vernacular audiobook market, audio content platform Kuku FM on Wednesday said that it inked a content licensing deal with Sweden-based e-book and audiobook subscription service provider Storytel.

This strategic partnership will enable Kuku FM to integrate over 3,300 audiobooks and 26,000 hours of fresh content from Storytel's extensive collection.

"From entertaining stories to simplifying complex financial concepts, Kuku FM offers its listeners the diverse range of content that they deserve," Vinod Kumar Meena, Co-Founder & COO, Kuku FM, said in a statement.

"This deal with Storytel is another big step in that direction, and we could not be more thrilled about the mutual value we would bring to Indian ears," he added.

Last year, Kuku FM raised $25 million in a Series C funding round to further strengthen the content ecosystem. In September 2022, the company raised $21.9 million in Series B1 funding, led by the Fundamentum Partnership.

This strategic partnership comes at a time when India's audio streaming industry is witnessing rapid growth, with the OTT audio market expected to reach $1.8 billion by 2025, according to IMARC Group.

"Our fantastic catalogue of titles from India and produced at the highest quality will now be available to even more listeners via Kuku FM. The wider distribution will benefit listeners as well as all of our writers & publishing partners," said Yogesh Dashrath, Publishing Manager, Storytel India.

The integration of Storytel's library into the Kuku FM platform is already underway and is expected to be completed within the next quarter, with audio content set to be available as early as the first week of March, the company mentioned.