Online directory service Truecaller is looking to raise $100 million in funding from as yet unnamed companies (possibly new and existing investors including Google and Twitter), reports TechCrunch. The report says that the funding would value Truecaller at $1 billion. The funds will be used to grow the product, expansion and build an office in the US.
Truecaller has reportedly hired Morgan Stanley to lead the process. It has raised around $80 million to date. The company’s 2014 Sweden filings indicate that it posted net sales of SEK 6.7 million (~$780,000) and a net loss of SEK 84.6 million ($9.8 million), which was up by almost 400% compared to 2013 figures. It makes money through in-app purchases for premium features along with advertising.
Truemessenger SMS app: Earlier last month, Truecaller launched an Android messaging app called Truemessenger which claimed to have an automated spam filter, for the Indian market. Truecaller said that it would roll this app out globally in the near future. Truemessenger would essentially do what Truecaller does for phone calls, it will identify the sender of the SMS through its claimed 150 million wide user base, especially for contacts outside a user’s phone book.
India user base: In August last year, we’d reported that more than 50% of Truecaller’s 70 million registered user base was in India, translating to at least 35 million registered users in the country, up from 30 million in April last year.
Cyanogen partnership: In May, OS-maker Cyanogen had partnered with Truecaller to make the caller ID and blocking service app as its default native dialer app. The platform would roll out this integration in future OTA updates for OnePlus One and YUREKA users, as well as integrate it in future smartphones that came preloaded with Cyanogen OS. The feature would also be integrated in upcoming versions of the OS and be available for all users across the globe.
Truecaller’s ~ $80 million funding: Launched in 2009, Truecaller secured $60 million in funding from Atomico, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and existing investor Sequoia Capital in October last year. Prior to this, Truecaller had raised $18.8 million investment from Sequoia Capital, Open Ocean, Truecaller Chairman Stefan Lennhammer, and an unnamed private investor, in February last year. The company had also raised $1.3 million from the Open Ocean in September 2012.
Truedialer app: In October last year, Truecaller introduced an alternate dialer app called Truedialer for Android and Windows Phone that provided information about the number users were about to call and allow them to search unknown numbers on Truecaller.
