BANGALORE, India—Indian messaging service provider Hike Ltd. said Wednesday it has raised $65 million from its parent company and a U.S.-based investor to help expand the user base of its free messaging app Hike Messenger.
The investments are from New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management and Bharti SoftBank, 9984.TO -0.80% the Indian company said in a statement.
Bharti SoftBank is a joint venture between India's Bharti Enterprises and Japan's SoftBank Corp., and fully-owned Hike. Hike didn't elaborate how much Tiger Global and Bharti SoftBank have individually invested or how its ownership structure would change post the fundraising.
It will use the funds to invest in the product and grow its team, Hike said.
India is the second largest mobile phone market in the world with 900 million users. Nearly 10% of the mobile phones used in India are smartphones, providing a huge market for messaging service providers to expand.
Hike, which was launched in December 2012, is competing with global messaging service providers such as Line and market leader WhatsApp, which has 55 million users in India.
The company is hoping that its app, which gives users more ways to maintain privacy and hide conversations on their phones, will attract youngsters trying to dodge the prying eyes of parents and other relatives.
In June, it launched an aggressive advertising campaign, helping add 15 million users. It currently has 35 million users.
"We have a great shot at becoming the first mobile-Internet company from India to cross a 100 million users," said Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and chief executive of Hike.
The investments are from New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management and Bharti SoftBank, 9984.TO -0.80% the Indian company said in a statement.
Bharti SoftBank is a joint venture between India's Bharti Enterprises and Japan's SoftBank Corp., and fully-owned Hike. Hike didn't elaborate how much Tiger Global and Bharti SoftBank have individually invested or how its ownership structure would change post the fundraising.
It will use the funds to invest in the product and grow its team, Hike said.
India is the second largest mobile phone market in the world with 900 million users. Nearly 10% of the mobile phones used in India are smartphones, providing a huge market for messaging service providers to expand.
Hike, which was launched in December 2012, is competing with global messaging service providers such as Line and market leader WhatsApp, which has 55 million users in India.
The company is hoping that its app, which gives users more ways to maintain privacy and hide conversations on their phones, will attract youngsters trying to dodge the prying eyes of parents and other relatives.
In June, it launched an aggressive advertising campaign, helping add 15 million users. It currently has 35 million users.
"We have a great shot at becoming the first mobile-Internet company from India to cross a 100 million users," said Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and chief executive of Hike.
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