Global segment ranking · Media, entertainment & gaming › Audio & video

The world’s most valuable podcast startups

Edition 0 (beta)·Published 6 Oct 2026·Next scheduled update 22 Mar 2027

Companies built on podcasts and spoken audio: listening and subscription apps, audio-series platforms, podcast networks and studios, and the tools made for podcasting (recording, hosting, advertising and measurement). Ranked worldwide by AI-estimated valuation. The market sets the value; our AI estimates it.

Twice a year Claude · multi-AI consensus from 1 Dec 2026· Method· Order never changed by a human

Declare an interest in Podcasts

Key metrics for this segment: key milestone. Figures as published by each company or the press, dated, not recalculated. The AIs weigh them alongside funding history and comparables.

Not in this segment. Listed, so not ranked: Spotify, Acast, Audioboom, PodcastOne, Libsyn, iHeartMedia, SiriusXM. Kuku FM has cleared its Indian IPO review and leaves the ranking once listed. Bought by a group: Wondery and Art19 (Amazon), Megaphone and Anchor (Spotify), Stitcher and Simplecast (SiriusXM), Spreaker (iHeartMedia), Pocket Casts (Automattic), Podchaser (Acast), Sounder (Triton Digital), SquadCast (Descript), Captivate (Global), Kast Media (PodcastOne), Thmanyah (SRMG), IVM Podcasts (Pratilipi), PodMe (Schibsted). Closed or taken over in insolvency: Curio, Sybel, Huxe. General creator tools (Descript, Async, ex-Podcastle) are in Creator tools, audiobook stores are not ranked here. Chinese companies (Ximalaya, Lizhi, Castbox) are never ranked. A company appears in one segment only. Method

The segment at a glance

22companies ranked

12companies on the radar

10countries in the ranking

6listed benchmarks

Sources: Company announcements, TechCrunch, Variety, Inside Radio, Podnews, Axios, Inc42, Calcalist, Bloomberg, Wamda, Tech.eu, Calcio e Finanza, PR Newswire. Intention counters will be shown above a threshold of amount and number of Backers.

Rankings by region

Filter the ranking and the Radar. Ranks stay worldwide. Regional pages: Asia · Europe · Middle East & North Africa · North America.

Global ranking · Podcasts

Top 22 Radar Challengers

First edition: no movements yet.

World · 22 ranked companies

#	Company	Last round · Key metrics	Estimated valuation (AI) · range	Confidence	Back
1	Pocket FMIndia · Asia	Series D · USD 103M · Mar 2024USD 500M annualised revenue, EBITDA-positive (company statement) · Sep 2026	Last known equity round: Series D · USD 103M · Mar 2024 (Lightspeed; StepStone, Goodwater, Naver) Published valuation: USD 750M (reported) (Mar 2024) Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
2	Kuku FMIndia · Asia	Series C · USD 85M · Oct 2025More than 10 million paying subscribers · Oct 2025	Last known equity round: Series C · USD 85M · Oct 2025 (Granite Asia; Vertex Growth, Krafton, IFC, Paramark, Tribe Capital, Bitkraft); about USD 50M of new money, the rest secondary Published valuation: about USD 500M (reported) (Oct 2025) Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
3	RiversideIsrael · Middle East & North Africa	Series C · USD 30M · Dec 2024More than 100 million minutes recorded in 2024 · 2024	Last known equity round: Series C · USD 30M · Dec 2024 (Zeev Ventures; Seven Seven Six, Sam Lessin) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
4	AudiochuckUnited States · North America	Minority growth equity · USD 40M · Feb 2025Crime Junkie and a network of true-crime shows; about USD 45M of annual profit (reported) · 2025	Last known equity round: Minority growth equity · USD 40M · Feb 2025 (The Chernin Group) Published valuation: about USD 250M (reported) (Feb 2025) Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
5	PodimoDenmark · Europe	Growth equity · USD 48M · Dec 2023One million paying subscribers; profitable in three markets · Feb 2025	Last known equity round: Growth equity · USD 48M · Dec 2023 (EIFO; HighlandX, Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker); EUR 44M No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
6	Spoon LabsSouth Korea · Asia	Strategic equity · USD 89.6M · Sep 2024Spoon live-audio app in Korea and Japan; revenue of KRW 25bn in the first half of 2024 · H1 2024	Last known equity round: Strategic equity · USD 89.6M · Sep 2024 (Krafton); KRW 120bn for a minority stake No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
7	Chora MediaItaly · Europe	Strategic equity · USD 10.8M · Mar 2025Revenue of EUR 11M for Chora and Will, about EUR 1M operating margin · 2024	Last known equity round: Strategic equity · USD 10.8M · Mar 2025 (Tether); EUR 10M for 30.4% of the Be Water holding (Chora Media, Will Media) Published valuation: EUR 55M post-money (reported) (Mar 2025) Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
8	Pushkin IndustriesUnited States · North America	Equity (SEC filing) · USD 10.5M · Mar 2021Malcolm Gladwell's audio studio; partnership with iHeartMedia renewed · 2025	Last known equity round: Equity (SEC filing) · USD 10.5M · Mar 2021 No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: LowMethod	Weak sources	Back
9	GumballUnited States · North America	Series A · USD 10M · Mar 2022More than 500 brands and 15,000 host-read ads sold · 2022	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 10M · Mar 2022 (Union Square Ventures, Good Friends; Craft Ventures, Calm Ventures) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
10	SonoroUnited States · North America	Series A (extended) · USD 9.5M · Oct 2023Break-even on high seven-figure revenue · 2023	Last known equity round: Series A (extended) · USD 9.5M · Oct 2023 (Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, Founder Collective, UTA Ventures); USD 6M Series A plus a USD 3.5M extension No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
11	Lemonada MediaUnited States · North America	Series A · USD 8M · Jan 2022Revenue tripled in 2021 · 2021	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 8M · Jan 2022 (BDMI; Greycroft, Madison Wells, Spring Point) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
12	Dear MediaUnited States · North America	Series A · USD 8M · May 2020More than 40 shows and 150 million downloads · 2020	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 8M · May 2020 (Magnet Companies) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
13	VeritonicUnited States · North America	Series A · USD 7.5M · Jun 2022Audio and podcast ad testing and attribution for brands and agencies · 2022	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 7.5M · Jun 2022 (Lavrock Ventures; Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau, Progress Ventures) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
14	VoicyJapan · Asia	Series D · USD 20M · Jul 2022About 1.5 million members and more than 1,600 channels · Jul 2022	Last known equity round: Series D · USD 20M · Jul 2022 (Global Brain; Dentsu Ventures, SKIYAKI, PR TIMES, Mizuho Growth Support); JPY 2.73bn No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
15	RedCircleUnited States · North America	Series A · USD 6M · Sep 2021Podcast hosting with an ad marketplace and listener subscriptions · 2021	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 6M · Sep 2021 (EPIC Ventures, Refinery Ventures; SignalFire, Bloomberg Beta) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
16	PodeoUnited Arab Emirates · Middle East & North Africa	Series A · USD 5.4M · Sep 2024More than 100,000 creators; revenue up six-fold in a year · Sep 2024	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 5.4M · Sep 2024 (Oraseya Capital; Ibtikar Fund, Cedar Mundi, Samarium, Razor Capital) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
17	KaleidoscopeUnited States · North America	Series A · USD 5M · Jul 2025No. 1 on Apple Podcasts with "On Musk" · 2025	Last known equity round: Series A · USD 5M · Jul 2025 (Hubert Burda Media, North Base Media; Raine Group, Tom Freston) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
18	Rebel AudioUnited States · North America	Seed · USD 3.8M · Mar 2026AI podcast creation and hosting for first-time creators, launched 2026 · Mar 2026	Last known equity round: Seed · USD 3.8M · Mar 2026 No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
19	PodUpUnited States · North America	Seed · USD 3.7M · Aug 2025Cash-flow positive since May 2025 · May 2025	Last known equity round: Seed · USD 3.7M · Aug 2025 (North Texas Angels, HBS Alumni Angels); part of USD 5.8M raised in total No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod	Solid sources	Back
20	NomonoNorway · Europe	Seed extension · USD 3.6M · Sep 2022Podcast recorder with cloud post-production · 2022	Last known equity round: Seed extension · USD 3.6M · Sep 2022 (Schibsted Ventures; SINTEF Venture, Spintop, Investinor); NOK 35M No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
21	WondercraftUnited Kingdom · Europe	Seed · USD 3M · Jan 2024More than 30,000 users of its AI podcast studio · Jan 2024	Last known equity round: Seed · USD 3M · Jan 2024 (Will Ventures; ElevenLabs, Steven Bartlett) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back
22	BarometerUnited States · North America	Seed · USD 2.2M · Mar 2023Brand-safety partner of Acast, Oxford Road and Katz · 2023	Last known equity round: Seed · USD 2.2M · Mar 2023 (Knoll Ventures, BDMI, HearstLab) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod	Partial sources	Back

Back · Declaring an intention does not mean this company is raising funds. · Terms

Corporate investor? Back the startups of your own segment

Ranking in descending order of AI-estimated valuation, based on public information, with no human intervention on the order. The valuations, ranges and brackets shown are editorial estimates produced by AI, purely indicative and imperfect by nature: neither a financial valuation, nor an offer, nor investment advice. Only the market sets a company’s value, through a funding round or a sale. Ranking established by Claude (Anthropic) from public information, following the published rules. A consensus of several AIs will apply from 1 December 2026. Eligibility: at least $1M raised in equity, non-listed company, main activity in this segment (podcasts). Country shown is the country of main operations. Request a correction

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How to read this ranking

Rank

Companies are ranked by AI-estimated valuation, highest first. The market sets the value; our AI estimates it.

Estimate

An AI-estimated valuation, its uncertainty range and its order of magnitude. Indicative, and imperfect by nature.

Hundreds of k$
Millions $
Tens of M$
Hundreds of M$
Unicorn
Decacorn
Hectocorn

Confidence

High: recent, solid public information.
Medium: older or partial information.
Low: sparse or single-sourced information.

Full method →

Invest in podcasts, together

Uback aggregates investment intentions from business angels, family offices, corporates and sector specialists worldwide. Every ranked company already has professional investors on its cap table, who have negotiated a shareholders’ agreement: you don’t start from a blank page.

Strength in numbers

Alone, a small ticket opens no doors. Together, Backers carry weight.

Declare an intention

On a company, whether or not it has agreed, or on this segment, worldwide, in a region or in a country, with a ticket range. Paid, to show you are serious; valid for life, and movable until a deal process opens.

Critical mass is reached

When the pool’s combined amount reaches its critical mass, a floor amount estimated by the AI, the pool is passed to the local partner, who presents this demand to the companies concerned.

The local partner structures

If the company’s expectations and the Backers’ converge, the partner builds a transaction and presents it directly to the Backers concerned.

Closing

Capital raise or sale of existing shares: small tickets are pooled in a common vehicle set up by the local partner. Each Backer decides whether to take part.

Uback does not advise, does not negotiate, collects nothing. Each transaction is run by the local partner of the company’s country, under the law that governs its shares.

Get notified when intentions open What happens after my declaration? Intention declarations open once the local partner signs · price per ticket band · valid for life · movable until a deal process opens

Challengers

A registered company raising funds that is not in the ranking will be able, for a fee, to appear in a separate list labelled “Challengers”, for a set period, with a memo available to verified Backers. The listing has no effect on the ranking. Not open yet.

Sponsored space · no Challenger listed yet

Radar · known eligible companies, not ranked

Sorted by date of last round, with no judgement and no AI call.

Goalhanger · United Kingdom · EuropeJan 2026; first outside investment, amount undisclosed; The Rest Is History, The Rest Is PoliticsBack
Zencastr · United States · North AmericaApr 2023 · USD 560k; after a USD 4.6M seed led by Kickstart in 2021Back
Crooked Media · United States · North AmericaSep 2022; amount undisclosedBack
NOICE · Indonesia · AsiaApr 2022 · USD 22M; link to the listed group Mahaka under reviewBack
Luminary · United States · North AmericaMar 2022; about USD 130M raised since 2018; little news since 2022Back
stand.fm · Japan · AsiaOct 2021 · USD 9M; JPY 1bnBack
Paradiso Media · France · EuropeSep 2021; amount undisclosed; took over Binge Audio in 2023Back
Khabri · India · AsiaAug 2021 · USD 2.1MBack
Hubhopper · India · AsiaFeb 2021; amount undisclosedBack
Ausha · France · EuropeMay 2020 · USD 1.3M; EUR 1.2MBack
Headgum · United States · North America2020 · USD 2MBack
Audioburst · Israel · Middle East & North AfricaApr 2019 · USD 10M; no news since 2019Back

Listed benchmarks

Not ranked: no intention is possible on a listed company.

Spotify · SwedenNYSE · SPOT
Acast · SwedenNasdaq Stockholm · ACAST
iHeartMedia · United StatesNasdaq · IHRT
SiriusXM · United StatesNasdaq · SIRI
Audioboom · United KingdomAIM · BOOM
PodcastOne · United StatesNasdaq · PODC

Sources and method for this segment

Calendar. Global segment rankings are published twice a year. Next edition: March 22, 2027.

Eligibility. At least $1M raised in equity, non-listed company, main activity in this segment (podcasts). A company appears in one segment only.

Sources. Company announcements, TechCrunch, Variety, Inside Radio, Podnews, Axios, Inc42, Calcalist, Bloomberg, Wamda, Tech.eu, Calcio e Finanza, PR Newswire.

Method and rules, common to all rankings →

The world’s most valuable podcast startups

Rankings by region

World

Asia

Europe

Latin America & Caribbean

Middle East & North Africa

North America

Oceania

Sub-Saharan Africa