NBCUniversal and Hornbill Capital co-lead $80m Series C in Story TV parent EloElo

EloElo Group, which operates the Indian microdrama platform Story TV, has raised $80m in a Series C round co-led by NBCUniversal and the India-focused investment firm Hornbill Capital, Variety reported late on 3 November 2026, US Pacific time. MIT Investment Co. joined the round alongside existing investors including Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures and Griffin Gaming Partners. The raise takes the company's total funding to $130m. Avendus Capital advised on the deal.

TechCrunch, which did not say who led the round, reported a valuation of $500m without naming its source. No release from NBCUniversal or EloElo was located.

Deepak Arya, executive vice president of corporate strategy and development at NBCUniversal, said the company would bring its global capabilities to the partnership as EloElo expands beyond India, including into the US market.

The company says Story TV carries more than 5,000 microdramas in six languages and that users spend 95 minutes a day on the app on average. Its apps, which also include the learning app Master, the AI companion Voxy AI and the AI creative suite Dolphin AI, have more than 40m monthly active users combined and more than 300m installs, by the company's count. EloElo said it will use the money for local-language originals, an overseas launch and further work on Dolphin AI.