Bangalore: SMS GupShup, a social SMS service that allows users communicate and connect with family, friends and fans using mobile handsets, has raised $12 million in Series D venture financing round. This latest funding round is led by by Globespan Capital Partners with existing investors Charles River Ventures and Helion Venture Partners participating in the round.

With this new financing round, the total funding of SMS GupShup comes to $37 million. According to the company, the new funding will be used to expand into other markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia, for product development and to hire new staff in engineering, advertising and marketing. Webaroo Technology is the parent company of SMS GupShup, and is founded by Rakesh Mathur and Beerud Sheth.

Launched in April 2007, Mumbai-based SMS GupShup (spawned from Webaroo), now serves 26 million users in over two million SMS communities - double the number of communities supported just six months ago. These communities range from religious groups to sports teams to fan clubs of celebrities. Whether it's daily news, traffic reports or business alerts, GupShup has emerged as a centerpiece of connectivity in India. The company offers reply-all group messaging service in partnership with mobile carriers. Over 100 advertisers currently run on the network including local insurance provider ICICI Lombard and international brands like Puma, Microsoft and Cadbury. Also, as claimed by the company, a few thousand SMEs and several corporations are deploying GupShup's mobile messaging solutions for their business needs.

Sheth, the Co-founder and CEO of Webaroo Technology said, "Our user base and revenues have grown substantially over the last year and are seeing strong interest from carriers worldwide. Our products are useful to each of the four billion mobile subscribers worldwide." In only the past two months, the service has increased its team head count from 100 to 130 and looks to fill another 20 positions in marketing, engineering and advertising sales.

Also, according to the company, as part of this funding round, Venky Ganesan, Managing Director of Globespan Capital Partners will join the SMS GupShup Board of Directors.