Pocket FM Ropes In Ex-Bank Of America Exec Abhilash Padival As CFO

Amid plans to bolster international presence, audio OTT soonicorn Pocket FM has onboarded ex-Bank of America director Abhilash Padival as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

Padival is succeeding Anurag Sharma, who resigned from his position back in May.

Pocket FM said Padival would oversee its global finance organisation, including financial strategy, capital allocation, business planning, investor relations, compliance and corporate governance.

“He will play a key role in strengthening the company’s financial foundation as Pocket FM continues to expand internationally, invest in AI-powered storytelling and build one of the world’s leading entertainment platforms,” the company said in a statement. 

Prior to his new engagement, Padival was engaged with Bank of America for seven years, where he served as the director for India investment banking.  He has also worked across companies like Quess Corp Limited, Altisource Labs, Avendus Capital, among others as a part of his career trajectory. 

Founded in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS, and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM is an audio streaming platform offering content across multiple languages and genres. Backed by Lightspeed, Stepstone Group, Tencent, and Times Internet, the startup has raised $196 Mn to date. It was last valued at $750 Mn during its $103 Mn Series D funding round in 2024.  

The startup claims to have crossed $400 Mn in ARR in March 2026. Back in April, Nayak said that Pocket FM was free cash flow positive with nearly 5% EBITDA, without specifying the period for the same.  

In FY25, the startup’s top line grew 68% to ₹1,768 Cr from ₹1,052 Cr in the previous fiscal.  Last year, the company also wound up its microdrama vertical Pocket TV after running it in beta phase for a few months.

It competes with the likes of Kuku FM and Amazon’s Audible.  

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