Pratilipi’s mission to become Bharat’s biggest storyteller

“What does it take to create Disney for India?” That was the question Ranjeet, co-founder of Pratilipi, asked during his first interaction with us.  

We’ve had the privilege of meeting many exceptional teams building in the content space, but few have shown the same clarity and ambition as Ranjeet and the Pratilipi team.

Today, we are excited to announce our partnership with them.

One line from Ranjeet during those early conversations stayed with us for its simplicity and depth:

“A good story can make you feel like you’ve lived a thousand lives.”

The legendary Iron Man began as a comic book, originally created for children and distributed in the US. Today, that same story anchors a billion-dollar franchise and inspires fans of all ages. That’s what great storytelling does- it transcends time, format and audience.

Ranjeet’s dream is to create stories from India that can do the same. Stories that begin in Indian languages but grow across cultures, formats, and geographies. With Pratilipi, that dream is already in motion.

Pratilipi: India’s leading literature platform

Every major content format has produced a breakout platform, like Hotstar in streaming, Dailyhunt in news, and Spotify in music. Until recently, Indian language literature hadn’t found its equivalent. Today, that platform is Pratilipi.

Our core thesis is simple: India is the land of many languages, and its countrymen love their stories. Nearly 70% of the population prefers content in their native tongue. It’s easy to see the need for a digital platform where readers can dive into books in the languages they know best.

And global analogs have validated this model. Wattpad for English and Filipino, China Literature for Mandarin, Naver and Kakao for Korean, and Narou for Japanese.

Pratilipi has spent nearly a decade focused on this opportunity. Today, it hosts over 15 million stories across 10+ Indian languages.

And readers love it. Across our user conversations, one theme came through repeatedly: Pratilipi is the go-to destination thanks to its unmatched depth, quality, and diversity of content. Over 80% of users read in their native language- a need no other platform fulfills at this scale. 

Solving for the authors

On the creator side, Pratilipi has built a superior space that gives writers creative freedom, visibility and support.  Many authors we spoke to said they started as hobbyists, but Pratilipi’s inclusive environment enabled them to go further and some even turned it into a source of income. The ease of use, engaged readership, and an excellent support team keep these authors coming back. More than 70% of authors on the platform publish exclusively on Pratilipi.

But is there any moolah in the content?

 Skeptics often ask about monetisation and scale. But as Ranjeet puts it, “Monetisation is the easiest part of building a consumer internet company if you have a product that customers love.”

Pratilipi’s user engagement speaks for itself, outperforming even top consumer apps globally. An average paying user spends over 2 hours daily on the app and logging in more than 20 times each month. The platform also boasts over 40% user retention by the end of Year 3.

This never-seen-before depth of user engagement has translated into strong unit economics and a literature business that’s already cash flow positive.

Life beyond literature

Pratilipi is now going multi-format, and the timing couldn’t be better. With AI driving down content creation costs, platforms with sticky, high-quality IP are primed to win. Pratilipi is leaning into this by adapting its best stories into multiple formats such as audio stories, comics, podcasts, and even web series, meeting users wherever they prefer to consume content.

It’s a natural evolution of the core thesis, unlocking even more value from the rich storytelling ecosystem the team has built. 

Partnering with the relentless

Ranjeet, Sankar, and Shally are founders with rare grit and clarity. Over the past decade, the team has weathered every curveball the content world could throw. Through it all, they’ve stayed focused and disciplined on building a product that readers and writers love.

Today, Pratilipi is well on its way to becoming India’s biggest storyteller. We’re proud to partner with Ranjeet and Shally as Pratilipi enters its next phase. A platform rooted in Bharat, and now scaling stories that can travel far beyond it.