NOICE, a technology start-up providing an audio platform for listeners in Indonesia, today announced its 7-figure Pre-Series A round co-led by Alpha JWC Ventures and Go-Ventures. Other venture capital firms including Kinesys Group, Kenangan Fund, and several business angel investors also participated in this round.
Launched in 2018, NOICE provides an audio platform that streams local audio content to over 800,000 registered listeners, across Indonesia. NOICE has become Indonesia’s largest podcast network, with 100+ original shows, including radio streaming and audiobooks. The platform encourages high engagement, allowing content creators to interact directly with their fans.
The company recently welcomed new leadership, Rado Ardian and Niken Sasmaya — both formerly from Google Asia Pacific — as NOICE’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Business Officer respectively. Rado and Niken will continue to drive the company’s goal of becoming Indonesia’s content platform of choice.
By Q3/2021, NOICE has achieved a huge milestone of streaming over 1 billion minutes of audio content to its users, showing high levels of engagement and consumption on the platform. NOICE’s users are very loyal to both podcast shows and the hosts, which makes the future of the creator economy and audio media very promising. Not only are NOICE’s users listening more to content on the platform, the number of users has also increased significantly: 144% over the past one year, even without any major marketing spend.
The next steps for NOICE: products, programs, and expansion
“This new investment will focus on three key areas. Firstly, Technology Development, in particular, we want to build a new live audio feature which we hope to launch very soon; Secondly, more Original Content Development; and thirdly, hiring talents across the region. In addition, we are incorporating new features within the platform to expand our content distribution, set up content creation and monetization tools, and significantly increase in-app community engagement,” explained Rado Ardian, CEO of NOICE.
NOICE Live is a new audio vertical that NOICE will introduce, in addition to the existing verticals – podcast, audiobook, and audio streaming. NOICE Live will provide a new social audio experience, where there is real-time interactivity amongst the community, including interactions between creators and followers, musicians and fans, or even subject experts and learners.
“Our key USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is our high-quality original content that is only available on NOICE with numerous talented content creators, ranging from imaginative first-timers to well-known celebrities. These individuals are realizing their dreams by showcasing their artistic skills across a range of genres, such as comedy, music, religion, horror, parenting, lifestyle, and edutainment. To accommodate users beyond Jakarta, we are focusing on a hyperlocal strategy – hiring local content creators to create relevant content in specific areas.
Our vision is to build an audio content creator ecosystem in the country where creators can thrive and connect with their fans meaningfully, as well as for brands to build and maintain loyal communities,” said Niken Sasmaya, CBO of NOICE.
This fresh injection of funds shows confidence in NOICE’s business plan and potential.
“We have seen tremendous growth in NOICE’s all-in-one platform, hyperlocal programs, community, and team expansion. Not only that, what NOICE has in store for the near future is very exciting and would be a game-changer in the content industry. NOICE’s expanding strategic support ecosystem is also a reason why we are confident in NOICE’s trajectory to win the local market. We are proud to continue our commitment to double-down in the company,” said Eko Kurniadi, Partner at Alpha JWC Ventures.
“While digital content consumption has been growing in Indonesia, there is a significant gap in the audio content vertical, especially for hyper-local content. As more people are working, learning, and being entertained at home, demand for quality content has increased exponentially. NOICE is well-positioned to address this unmet need, becoming Indonesia’s leading audio platform,” said Aditya Kumar, SVP of Investments, Go-Ventures.