MUMBAI: Mobile media startup, Affle, has secured over Rs 500 million in its second round of funding from D2 Communications Inc, a JV between Japanese telco NTT DoCoMo Inc. and ad agency Dentsu.

The deal is an all-cash investment for a minority stake in Affle Holdings Pte, through acquisition of both newly issued and transferred existing shares in the startup.

The funds are expected to be used for expansion in Asia, specifically in India.

In February, the two companies had entered into strategic alliance, backed with a ‘token investment‘ from D2C. This is a follow-up investment.

Till date, Affle has raised a total of $20 million in funding and is supported by Microsoft Global Finance, Itochu Corporation, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (BCCL) and Centurion Private Equity. 
 
India is one of the most important markets for Affle, where it has aggressively grown its sales teams and worked with Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, who promote and market Affle‘s apps to mobile subscribers.

The Singapore-headquartered company, which has three offices in India -- Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore has worked with media agencies such as Group M, OMD, Mudra, MediaCom and Madison Communications.

Nokia, Maruti Suzuki, Pepsi, BPCL, Godrej, Samsung and ESS are some of Affle‘s clients in India.

D2 Communications CEO Takayuki Hoshuyama said that developing Asian markets have huge untapped potential for mobile advertising. "We are confident that our experience from Japan would help Affle become the dominant mobile advertising player in these mobile-first markets."

Affle Group of Companies chairman Anuj Khanna Sohum added, "With our greater strategic association we plan to significantly further Affle‘s product portfolio and traction to deliver greater value to our users and mobile media partners globally."