Generative Now | AI Builders on Creating the Future

Rohan Nayak: How Pocket FM is Using AI to Reinvent Audio Storytelling

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Apr 24, 2025

Rohan Nayak, CEO and co-founder of Pocket FM, shares how his audio platform champions a new era of storytelling. He discusses the gap in the market he identified and how AI optimizes everything from audience retention to discovering hit shows. Rohan reveals how AI serves as a writing coach and productivity partner for creators, fundamentally reshaping content consumption. Additionally, he dives into strategies for daily engagement and the challenges of evolving audio storytelling, offering a glimpse into the future of the medium.

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ANECDOTE

Inspiration from Long Commutes

Rohan Nayak experienced boredom during long 3-hour daily commutes and found existing audio options lacking for entertainment needs.
This inspired him to create Pocket FM, aiming to fill the gap between short and long-form audio entertainment.

INSIGHT

New Format for Audio Entertainment

Audio entertainment needed a new format distinct from traditional podcasts due to its unique user experience.
Pocket FM pioneered audio series with bite-sized daily episodes for long-term engagement and habit-building.

ANECDOTE

Passion Fueled Startup Leap

Rohan Nayak took the leap to start Pocket FM driven by deep passion for content platforms.
Despite no prior startup, his love for content gave him courage to commit long term and iterate on the idea.

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There’s no doubt we have more choices for entertainment than at any other point in history. And yet, once a series ends, it can be difficult to find something you like just as much. But what if AI could give you a seemingly endless supply of quality content? In this episode of Generative Now, host Michael Mignano, partner at Lightspeed, sits down with Rohan Nayak, CEO and co-founder of Pocket FM, an audio platform that has pioneered the audio series format.

Rohan talks about how he identified a gap in the audio entertainment space and how Pocket FM leverages AI to optimize everything from audience retention to discovery to identifying hit shows. He also discusses how Pocket FM’s employment of AI has allowed for the making of an all-in-one content creation and consumption platform, where creators can use AI as a writing coach, editor, and productivity partner — all in one. The conversation offers a glimpse into the future of storytelling and how AI is reshaping the way content is created, discovered, and consumed.

Episode Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:23) Story of Rohan and Pocket FM

(06:02) Solving for a content gap

(08:42) Creating a new audio entertainment format

(11:06) Building Pocket FM

(17:17) Using AI in audio content creation

(21:11) Human and AI partnership in content creation

(24:07) Challenges of improving an AI writing model

(28:45) Using AI to identify blockbusters

(33:00) AB testing with content

(36:11) Training AI to create webtoons

(41:14) Evaluating and propagating content

(43:47) Matching content with users

(44:50) Future of Pocket FM

(48:02) Closing Thoughts

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