Jon Stojan
Image credit: Pocket Toons
Pocket Entertainment, the parent company of Pocket FM — the audio entertainment platform that redefined audio storytelling with episodic audio series globally — has now turned its sights to comics. This format, loved by young audiences worldwide, is set to cross $27.2 billion in value by 2033.
Pocket Toons, the latest from Pocket Entertainment’s tech-packed ensemble, is an AI-first comics platform powered by its proprietary artificial intelligence studio, Blaze! With Blaze!, Pocket Toons produces comic episodes with 20 times the throughput at one-third the cost, making comics-binging a reality for fans. According to a recent press release, Pocket Entertainment will invest $15 million in Pocket Toons in 2025 and is targeting $100 million in annualised recurring revenue (ARR) from Toons by 2026.
Blaze! AI will work as a creative co-pilot with comic creators and act as a force multiplier for their originality and creativity rather than a replacement by automating key creative tasks like background rendering, scene composition, colouring and quality control. Thus, Blaze! will allow creators to focus on storytelling and character development, ensuring that comics retain their artistic essence in a faster and more scalable workflow.
Indeed, Blaze! has the potential to transform the traditional comics production landscape. Typically, comic titles release just one episode every week, but with Blaze!, Pocket Toons creators will be able to release new episodes every day — something webtoons fans have long been asking for. This transformation in production speeds will increase engagement with readers and allow for greater diversity in the content produced by the comics industry.
According to Pocket Entertainment, Pocket Toons has already seen encouraging responses since its beta launch in January 2025. With over 30 comic titles on offer, Pocket Toons has been downloaded more than 100,000 times, and total reading time has crossed 6 million minutes. On average, Pocket Toons users spend 60 minutes per day reading titles, while paying users spend double that time.
“At Pocket Entertainment, we are harnessing AI to amplify human creativity — empowering artists to push the boundaries of storytelling without replacing their unique artistic expression. By integrating AI into the creative workflow, we are not just increasing efficiency — we are unlocking new possibilities for storytelling at an unprecedented scale. AI-powered comics aren’t the future — they’re happening now,” CEO and co-founder Rohan Nayak said in a statement.
The AI Engine Driving Pocket Toons
Besides accelerating production, AI will personalize the platform for audience engagement, driving better retention. Pocket Toons’ AI capabilities will also help Pocket Toons identify growth markets and tailor content for those geographies.
“The demand for high-quality, episodic content has never been higher. Blaze! amplifies the capabilities of artists, allowing them to produce more without sacrificing their originality or the quality of their work. Pocket Toons is not about replacing human creativity — it’s about enhancing it. As we look ahead, AI-driven platforms like ours will be instrumental in shaping the future of entertainment, bridging the gap between artistic ambition and scalable production,” said Shreyas Joshi, Senior Vice President, Pocket Toons in a press statement.
Pocket Entertainment’s investors are also upbeat about Blaze!, especially because of its Indian origin. As Harsha Kumar, partner at Lightspeed (Pocket Entertainment’s lead investor) recently said, “India is making its mark on the global AI stage, and Blaze! is proof of how India is building AI for the world. I am incredibly proud that Pocket FM is now expanding its vision with the launch of Pocket Toons. As one of our portfolio companies, Pocket FM continues to push the boundaries of innovation, proving that India is at the forefront of shaping the future of global entertainment.”
However, the truth is that Pocket Toons is not just another comics platform. In today’s world, the future of content belongs to those who embrace AI — not as a replacement for human creativity, but as an enabler.
With Pocket Toons, Pocket Entertainment is likely to redefine storytelling through the medium of comics just as it has successfully done for non-music audio entertainment. Pocket Entertainment has done it before with Pocket FM, and the company can do it again — this time for Pocket Toons riding on Blaze!