AI-powered and free audio descriptions making movies available for blind audiences

Nobaflix is a streaming service that uses AI to create audio descriptions for blind and visually impaired viewers. It combines sponsorships and low subscriptions, leverages legal copyright exceptions, partners with NGOs and tech firms, and has expanded across South Asia since May 2023.

No Barrier Foundation, a mid-sized NGO in Gurugram (Haryana), advances digital accessibility for people with visual impairments through ICT solutions. Its flagship platform, Nobaflix, is a streaming platform offering films and series with AI-assisted, license-free audio descriptions. Since 2023, Nobaflix has grown rapidly, reaching 15,000+ users across India and beyond, providing 500+ accessible titles in multiple languages by 2025.

Problems Targeted

Blind and visually impaired persons in South Asia face almost no access to audio-described cinema and series, leaving mainstream entertainment largely inaccessible.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Operating under a license-free model, Nobaflix relies on legal copyright exceptions to adapt mainstream content, unlocking access to thousands of films and series. The streaming platform for users with visual disabilities leverages AI to generate high-quality audio descriptions (primarily in Hindi, but also in other Indian languages), making production faster and more affordable. As an ‘over-the-top’ streaming service, Nobaflix delivers content via the Internet, available through both web and mobile app. Its built-in sponsorship system connects NGOs, corporations, and donors to low-income and rural users. Strategic partnerships include XL Cinema, a mobile application and SDK platform that delivers synchronized audio descriptions and multi-language dubbing; the National Association for the Blind; and over 50 Indian NGOs and institutions. The quality of AI-based descriptions is provided first by first human and then mechanical quality control. Nobaflix also creates jobs for people with visual disabilities, such as quality controllers, movie organizers, and voice artists. Since launching in May 2023, Nobaflix has reached over 15,000 users, including 10,000+ active subscribers. Nobaflix users may either pay a low annual subscription of INR 349 (approximately $4) or request a sponsorship if unable to afford it. It has expanded to Nepal, Bangladesh, and the UAE, while actively growing its catalogue in regional languages and formats such as sign language.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The funding model combines sponsorship and affordable user subscriptions. The platform’s self-paid subscription revenue grew from $1,900 in 2023 to $8,300 in 2024, with $120,000 secured for 2025 from the Adani Foundation, a leading grant-giving foundation in India. Nobaflix has now started to roll out sign-language content, aiming to reach a verified user-base of 1 million persons with disabilities in India by 2030. (#ZeroCall26)

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