Fonos
Vietnam, VN · 2 known investors
Fonos is a Vietnamese audiobook and podcast platform offering over 13,000 copyrighted audio and text-based content pieces, including audiobooks, podcasts, and e-books for individual and corporate subscribers.
Also known as Fonos
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Fonos is a Vietnamese-language digital audio and reading application built around licensed audiobooks, an in-house video-and-audio course format called PodCourse, ebooks, book summaries, English-language titles published with Oxford materials, and children's stories. The company states its catalogue exceeds 13,000 copyrighted pieces of audio and text content, with a subset of roughly 400 audiobooks and PodCourses grouped into a members-only library alongside all ebooks, English titles and children's content.
Audiobooks on the platform are narrated by professional voice artists, and for some Vietnamese titles the author records the narration. The first chapter of every audiobook is free, and additional titles are labelled as free within the app. Beyond individual consumers, Fonos markets a business offering positioned around learning and development programmes for company teams in Vietnam.
Business model
Fonos sells consumer subscriptions in tiers (Lite, Premium and Premium PRO). Membership unlocks a curated member library of 400+ audiobooks and PodCourses plus all ebooks, English-language books and children's stories. Premium and Premium PRO members also receive "Fonos cards" (12 and 24 per year respectively) that are spent to acquire titles outside the member library — one card per audiobook and two per PodCourse — and purchased titles are owned permanently. Lite members receive no cards but can buy them at a discount. A separate business-facing offering targets corporate learning and development.
Recurring subscription fees, sold monthly and annually (annual Premium listed at 899,000 VND, discounted from 1,548,000 VND, framed as 75,000 VND per month), supplemented by à-la-carte purchases of individual audiobooks and PodCourses through the Fonos card system, and corporate contracts.
Traction
The site reports more than 400,000 members, over 3.5 million app downloads, a 4.7 app rating from more than 34,000 ratings, and a catalogue of over 13,000 titles. Company survey data cited on the site claims 93% of respondents agreed Fonos helps personal development, an average of 10 audiobooks listened to per member per year, and that two-thirds of users value its fit with a busy lifestyle.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography
Market position
Fonos describes itself as the number one audiobook application in Vietnam and cites mentions by Vietcetera, Forbes, VnExpress, publishers Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ and Thái Hà Books, Crunchbase and Tech in Asia, as well as inclusion in an Apple list of 24 notable apps for 2024.
The company positions itself on licensing and production quality: partnerships with authors, subject-matter experts and publishers, fully copyrighted catalogue, professional narration including author-read Vietnamese titles, a user review community to aid content discovery, and the PodCourse video format available only on its platform.
Technology
A mobile application distributed through app stores, delivering streaming and downloadable audiobooks, ebooks, book summaries and PodCourse content in an audio and video format the company describes as exclusive to Fonos.
Go-to-market
Vietnamese-speaking consumers, positioned particularly at time-constrained users who listen while commuting or driving, self-development-oriented readers, families seeking children's audio stories, Vietnamese living abroad with limited access to physical books, and companies buying learning content for employees.
Geography
Vietnam-focused, with Vietnamese-language content and a business offering explicitly for companies in Vietnam; the site notes usage by customers living abroad.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsFonos was included in an Apple selection of 24 apps highlighted for 2024, described by Apple as well-designed apps that make life easier or provide useful guidance and entertainment.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Fonosfonos.vn · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Fonos do?
- Fonos is a Vietnamese audiobook, PodCourse and ebook subscription app with over 13,000 licensed titles.
- Who are Fonos's investors?
- Fonos's investors include AngelCentral, iSeed.
- Where is Fonos headquartered?
- Fonos is headquartered in Vietnam, VN.