MUMBAI; The Indian audio streaming sector continues to expand with Velvet, a new platform specialising in cinematic audio stories, announcing actor Pankaj Tripathi has joined as co-founder. Tripathi recently released a bunch of his stories written and narrated by him on Velvet. 

The bootstrapped venture, which launched quietly in late 2024, was founded by actor and dialogue coach Vikas Kumar, alongside Akshat Saxena, Varad Bhatnagar and Sharib Khan. It joins a growing market that includes successful platforms such as Pocket FM, Pratilipi FM and Kuku FM.

"From folk tales to epics, our stories have always had the power to inspire, educate, and entertain," said Mr Tripathi. "We aim to elevate this tradition into a cinematic experience for the ears, whilst remaining deeply rooted in our cultural ethos."

The platform, which focuses on preserving and promoting traditional storytelling, has attracted over 10,000 direct listeners and reaches more than one million users through partnerships with Josh App in India and Future Today Group in the US.

The announcement follows the recent launch of Eshtory by former radio executive Harrish Bhatia, indicating growing interest in India's audio streaming market.