SMS GupShup gets $12 mn in series D funding

MUMBAI, INDIA: SMS GupShup, a social network based in India, on Wednesday announced that they have closed a $12 million funding round led by Globespan Capital Partners and additional financing from existing investors Charles River Ventures and Helion Venture Partners.

Launched in April 2007, SMS GupShup now serves 26 million users in over 2 million SMS communities – double the number of communities supported just six months ago, said a press release.

Whether it’s daily news, traffic reports or business alerts, GupShup is the centerpiece of connectivity in India. Over 100 advertisers currently run on the network including local insurance provider ICICI Lombard and international brands like Puma, Microsoft and Cadbury.

A few thousand SMEs and several corporations are deploying GupShup’s mobile messaging solutions for their business needs.

The company claims that it now accounts for 5 per cent of all text messages sent in India. Earlier this year, the company had inked a deal with Facebook to enable Indian Facebook users to go mobile.

According to Gartner Inc. in 2009, the mobile subscriber base in 2013 is set to exceed 771 million in India and 4 billion globally. This funding will allow SMS GupShup to expand into new territories, and to roll out new features such as Mobile CRM solutions for small businesses and corporate brands. As one of the fastest growing digital communities in the world, SMS GupShup already enjoys a larger market share of users in India than any other social networking site, online or mobile. The company also offers reply-all group messaging service in partnership with mobile carriers.

Beerud Sheth, co-founder and chief executive of Webaroo Technology India Pvt. Ltd, parent company of SMS GupShup, says, “Our user base and revenues have grown substantially over the last year and are seeing strong interest from carriers worldwide. We expect to use the proceeds from this funding round to accelerate our growth and expand our operations globally. Our products are useful to each of the the 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide”.