Tiger Global leads $100m round for India's Gupshup
Gupshup, an India-based messaging services provider that helps corporate customers execute marketing strategies, has raised $100 million in funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion.
Tiger Global Management led the round, according to a statement. Other investors were not identified. The company said that a second tranche “with significant additional funds raised from more investors” would be announced later.
Gupshup claims to have been profitable for years, with an annual revenue run rate of approximately $150 million for 2020. Its last funding round was in 2011, when Tenaya Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, Helion Ventures and Charles River Ventures put in $10 million. That took the company's total funding – chiefly from Globespan, Helion and Charles River – to $47 million.
Gupshup facilitates customer engagement through conversational messaging. Its system powers more than six billion messages a month on behalf of 39,200 brands including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Paytm, Reliance Jio, Flipkart, HSBC, Oyo, and Xiaomi.
The company’s platform provides a single messaging application programming interface (API) that works across over 30 channels, including bot platforms, IP messaging, and other engagement tools such as WhatsApp and SMS. In addition to marketing, Gupshup’s solutions cover customer service, appointment booking, and food and beverage ordering and payment.
“The growth in business use of messaging and conversational experiences, transforming virtually every customer touchpoint, is an exciting secular trend”, said John Curtius, a partner at Tiger Global. “Gupshup is uniquely positioned to win in this market with a differentiated product, a clear and sustainable moat, and an experienced team with a proven track record.”
Gupshup is described as a pioneer in driving adoption of conversational messaging. The new funding will support business scaling and go-to-market initiatives worldwide. While the SMS ecosystem is fragmented by country, approaches to IP messaging are uniform, which is expected to facilitate Gupshop’s global expansion, with a focus on emerging markets with similar dynamics to India.
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