GOGII, maker of the social messaging app textPlus, is announcing a $15 million Series C round led by GRP Partners this morning. GRP will be joining existing investors Matrix Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
textPlus is in a super crowded arena, with upstart apps GroupMe, Fast Society, FreeText, and now even Facebook getting into the group messaging space. textPlus does have the advantage of being a first mover, at least in the free SMS space, having launched in June 2009.
Founder and former Activision executive Scott Lahman tells us that what sets the free app apart is its focus on social profiles, as well as its painting a wide stroke across all the competitive verticals. Says Lahman, “We’ve been at it for awhile and what we’re doing is taking on a broader canvas. So we compete with the group texting guys, we compete with the free texting guys.”
With textPlus you can join topic driven community chat groups (discussing anything from Lady Gaga to soccer) in addition to group conversations and good old person to person SMS. The app also has photo sharing, search and profile personalization features.
Right now textPlus sends almost 32 million messages a day, over 7 billion messages total since launch. And the app definitely has scale: With over 14 million downloads across the iPhone and Android platforms and 7.7 million monthly active users. And Lahman is only looking up and to the right from here, “There’s so many places group texting could go and we’ve barely started.”
You can find the textPlus app on the iPhone, iPad and Android and the service also works on any device that carries SMS messages.
textPlus is a leading mobile communications service that lets anyone text, talk and share for free or cheaply. We offer unparalleled choice, savings and reliability to consumers globally for a better phone experience. Our open network connects over 110 million people worldwide through a chart-leading app available for iOS, Android and Windows smartphones and devices including iPod touch and tablets. textPlus is a headquartered in Marina del Rey and backed by leading investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Matrix...
GRP Partners is a Los Angeles based Venture Capital firm with a national practice. Since 1982 the partners have invested in leading global brands including Starbucks, Costco, Overture, LastMinute.com and BillMeLater. GRP Partners manages over $1 billion and its most recent fund was closed in 2012. With professionals in Los Angeles and London, GRP has a global perspective when serving portfolio companies and seeking investment opportunities.
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