True Balance raises Rs 100cr in Series B funding from SoftBank Ventures Korea, others
True Balance, the app that helps users check their mobile balance, purchase a prepaid account, and track data usage, has raised Rs 100 crore in a Series B round of funding from existing investor SoftBank Ventures Korea and new investors IMM Investment, Mega Investment, Korea Development Bank, and Capston Partners.
The company plans to utilise the funding to improve user convenience through upgrades and aims to reach 100 million downloads in 2017, according to a release.
"The additional funding will help us spur our business growth even further. True Balance has been growing exponentially, passing the 30-million download mark, targeting 100 million by the end of this year. We have also recently introduced the ‘one-click recharge feature’ to dramatically improve the convenience of mobile life," said Cheol-won Lee, CEO of Balance Hero, True Balance’s parent company.
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In March 2016, True Balance had raised an undisclosed amount in Series A round from SoftBank Ventures Korea. Founded in 2000, the venture capital fund is an affiliate of SoftBank Korea, a holding company of SoftBank Group.
Cheol-won said that India is expected to surpass the US and become the world's second-largest mobile market.
The app is enabled by the engine technology for automated text message translation. Considering the low bandwidth in India, it enables users to check their balance in real time even when data service is not available for their mobile phones. True Balance has evolved in ways that Indian people can manage communication and data more conveniently at lower costs.
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This technology is available for prepaid mobile phone users who use the services of nine telecommunication providers in 22 telecommunication circles in India.
Gyu Hak (Greg) Moon, President and CEO, SoftBank Ventures Korea said, “The most impressive investment of the previous year was Balance Hero." Moreover, he added that "within the first year of investment, there was 3,000 percent growth in app downloads, and this denotes the company's growth. Due to the rapid expansion of the Indian market, the company's estimated potential seems to be even greater.”