Mumbai-based OSLabs Technology India Pvt. Ltd, which runs smartphone operating system Indus OS, has raised $4 million (around Rs 26 crore) in a pre-Series B funding round.
The money came from existing investors and takes the total funding raised by the company to $13 million, it said in a statement on Thursday. It did not disclose its valuation.
Indus OS said it will use the money to tie up with more brands, acquire users and develop its product. Its brand partners include smartphone makers Micromax, Intex, Karbonn, Celkon and Swipe, and cab aggregator Ola. The company aims to acquire 100 million users within three years, up from 10 million currently.
“We will strengthen our efforts to build the Indus OS platform for developers to reach the Indian masses through dedicated brand accounts,†said co-founder and CEO Rakesh Deshmukh, referring to an integration of Internet services with the operating system.
Indus OS, formerly called Firstouch, was founded in 2013 by IIT-Bombay alumni Deshmukh, Akash Dongre and Sudhir B. Deshmukh had previously founded and ran a company called MoFirst Solutions Pvt. Ltd for five years.
In January 2016, it had raised $5 million from investors led by venture capital firm Omidyar Network. Earlier this year, it secured funding from investment firm VenturEast and JSW Ventures, the VC arm of JSW Group. The company's angel investors include the founders of Snapdeal, inMobi and Quikr.
“Indus OS continues to innovate for the smartphone user through its differentiated suite of regional language and system/native application products that help accelerate Internet adoption by the Indian masses,†said Badri Pillapakkam, investment partner at Omidyar.
Indus OS is one of the leading operating systems for regional language smartphone users in India. It is available in English and 12 Indian languages. It also has own app store called App Bazaar with more than 50,000 applications available in these languages. The company has about 100 employees, 80% of whom work on technology and research and development.
