In a move that underlines its growing ambition at the intersection of storytelling and technology, Pocket Entertainment—the parent company of Pocket FM, Pocket Toons, and Pocket Novel—has promoted Umesh Bude to Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Umesh, who previously served as Senior Vice President of Engineering, has been a key force behind the company’s robust technology backbone. With this elevation, he will now lead the strategic evolution of Pocket’s technology stack, with a sharp focus on leveraging AI to shape the future of storytelling.
“It’s a privilege to take on this role at a time when technology and creativity are deeply intertwined at Pocket Entertainment,” said Bude. “I look forward to driving the next wave of innovation, where technology and AI are not just enablers, but storytellers in their own right.”
As CTO, Bude will be responsible for building scalable systems that can support Pocket’s global expansion, innovating on generative AI, and delivering tech-led solutions that empower creators and delight consumers across all platforms. He will continue to report to Co-founder and CTO Prateek Dixit.
The timing couldn’t be more significant. Pocket Entertainment has been making quiet, yet decisive moves in AI-first entertainment. Earlier this year, it launched Pocket Toons, a unique AI-powered comics platform aimed at reimagining how visual storytelling is produced and consumed.
In March, its flagship product Pocket FM raised $103 million in a Series D round, led by Lightspeed and Stepstone Group, taking its total funding to $196.5 million and placing its valuation at $750 million.
More tellingly, its global revenue jumped nearly 6X—from ₹176 crore in FY23 to ₹1,051 crore in FY24—while narrowing losses by 21% to ₹165 crore. These numbers reflect a strong product-market fit and an increasingly capital-efficient growth story.
With Umesh Bude at the helm of its technology vision, Pocket Entertainment seems poised to script a compelling next chapter—not just for its products, but perhaps for storytelling itself.
