Indian podcaster Raj Shamani has overtaken British entrepreneur Steven Bartlett and American podcast host Joe Rogan to become the most-subscribed podcaster on YouTube globally, marking a major milestone for India’s growing creator economy.
Shamani’s flagship show, Figuring Out with Raj Shamani, has crossed 22 million YouTube subscribers, moving ahead of Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO, which has 21.9 million subscribers, and The Joe Rogan Experience, which has 21.2 million.
Launched in 2021 from Indore, India, the podcast has grown into one of the world’s largest digital shows, bringing together influential figures from business, politics, science and entertainment. Shamani’s rise also highlights how creators outside traditional Western media markets are increasingly reaching global audiences through digital platforms.
The podcast’s growth has accelerated in 2026, adding 8 million YouTube subscribers since the beginning of the year. It now generates approximately 1.4 billion monthly views across platforms, with international audiences accounting for 22% of its YouTube subscriber base.
Among its high-profile guests this year have been French President Emmanuel Macron, neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman, business professor Dr. Scott Galloway and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. During his appearance on the show, Altman revealed that India had overtaken the United States as ChatGPT’s largest market.
Shamani, founder of Figuring Out Media, said the podcast began with a simple ambition: to understand how successful and influential people think and share those insights with a wider audience.
“When I started Figuring Out in a small room in Indore, I had one obsession: understanding how the world’s most extraordinary people think, what they know that the rest of us don’t, and what makes them different,” Shamani said.
He added that the platform was built around the belief that access to knowledge should not depend on someone’s family background, hometown or social connections.
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“Figuring Out was built for ambitious people. People who are curious, hungry to learn, and believe there’s more they’re capable of becoming,” he said.
While describing the 22 million subscriber milestone as a significant achievement, Shamani said his larger ambition is to turn the podcast into a global media institution.
“22 million subscribers is an incredible milestone, but what excites me more is knowing that millions of people across the world share that ambition,” he said.
The growing international audience has also opened opportunities for Shamani to expand beyond podcasting. Through Figuring Out Media, he is looking to build a broader global media business, develop commercial partnerships and bring its content to more international viewers.
The latest milestone puts an India-based podcast ahead of two of YouTube’s most established international podcast brands, reflecting the growing influence of digital creators in shaping global conversations.