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October 13, 2008
Mobile Platform GupShup Receives $11 Million for Expansion
By Rajani Baburajan, TMCnet Contributor
SMS GupShup, a mobile community platform operated by Webaroo, says it’s received an $11 million investment from Helion Ventures and Charles River Ventures.
SMS GupShup is a free, short messaging service, or text-message-based group service whose platform aids contextual advertising to targeted communities.
Launched in April 2007 in India, SMS GupShup has grown into a social community with more than 12 million users from more than 500 different communities that include business, entertainment and news. As a result, there is an increasing adoption for targeted and contextual mobile advertising, the company said.
Through GupShup, users communicate with each other by sending group messages, personal messages and greetings.
Funds procured from the venture capitals will be utilized for business growth, product development and improvement of sales and marketing, GupShup officials say. The company also says it plans to expand to more geographical locations.
“Helion Ventures is very excited about SMS GupShup’s rapid growth and leadership position in the dynamic mobile space,” said Ashish Gupta, managing director at Helion Ventures. “We believe that this innovative platform for mobile communities and advertising has immense potential.”
According to Devdutt Yellurkar, a partner at Charles River Ventures, SMS GupShup has assembled a talented team of smart technologists and proven entrepreneurs.
“We look forward to working with them in building a large, successful business,” Yellurkar said.
SMS GupShup recently built branding communities around DLFIPL and Pepsi, the company said.
“We are delighted to have two world-class venture capital firms as our investors, helping us deliver great customer value and build on a significant market opportunity,” said Rakesh Mathur, chief executive officer and co-founder of SMS GupShup.
According to Beerud Sheth, president, and co-founder, the lately procured investment will enable the company to innovate faster and deliver great products to consumers, advertisers and enterprises.
With the availability of new software for mobile networking and the increasing popularity of mobile Internet applications, the interaction among community members is not limited to sending text messages, but is constantly evolving towards sophisticated interactions of Internet virtual communities, GupShup officials say.
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Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Michael Dinan
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