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SMS GupShup secures $12 mn fresh funding
MUMBAI: Social network SMS GupShup has closed funding for a $12 million round, led by Globespan Capital Partners and additional financing from existing investors, Charles River Ventures and Helion Venture Partners.
This funding will allow SMS GupShup to expand into new territories, and to roll out new features such as Mobile CRM solutions for small businesses and corporate brands.
SMS GupShup co-founder and CEO Beerud Sheth says, “Our user base and revenues have grown substantially over the last year and we are also seeing strong interest from carriers worldwide. We expect to use the proceeds from this funding round to accelerate our growth and expand our operations globally, to make our products useful to each of the the 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide.”
To date, SMS GupShup has raised $37 million in funding and is now aggressively hiring. In only the past two months the service has increased its team headcount from 100 to 130 and is looking to fill another 20 positions in marketing, engineering and advertising sales.
Globespan Capital MD Venky Ganesan says, “SMS GupShup is bringing social messaging to the mobile masses. It is on track to be the next big global, social, mobile play.”
As part of this funding round, Ganesan will join the SMS GupShup Board of Directors, which currently comprises Devdutt Yellurkar (Charles River Ventures), Ashish Gupta (Helion Venture Partners), Jeff Hussey (Founder of F5 Networks), Rakesh Mathur (co-founder and chairman of the board) and Beerud Sheth (co-founder and CEO).
“Since we last invested, SMS GupShup has shown huge growth in number of users and revenues. We’re excited to re-invest again to help the business realize its global potential as the social messaging solution for the masses,” says Devdutt Yellurkar of Charles River Ventures.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
