• January 22, 2009

Text messaging provider 4INFO has raised $20 million in equity and debt financing led by Peacock Equity--the joint venture of NBC Universal and GE Capital--and Gannett Inc. and including existing investors US Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Sand Hill Capital.

The fourth-round funding also included new investor Selby Ventures. 4INFO will use the new capital to continue building cross-media partnerships featuring text messaging and to improve its technology and marketing services. The company says its ad-supported service handles more than 80 million messages a month from 16 million users. The company has raised a total of $40 million to date.

SMS text messaging is the most prevalent type of non-voice mobile activity, with more than half of U.S. mobile subscribers thumbing away on mobile devices. It also accounts for the largest proportion of mobile advertising to date.--Mark Walsh