The investment was led by existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners and Jerusalem Venture Partners.

The technology is already used by 25 operators globally, including AIS in Thailand, Beeline in Russia and Claro in South America. London-based Celltick plans to use the funding to switch its business model from selling licences to offering its technology for free while generating revenues from editorial content and advertising sales.

Celltick’s CEO Stephen Dunford says: ‘[Our] managed service team has the global expertise and experience to ensure that this unique mobile marketing medium is optimised to generate revenue.

‘Strong revenues can be achieved by creating a relevant service with an enhanced and valuable user experience.’

Amadeus first invested in Celltick in 2005. Richard Anton, partner at the firm, says that since then the company has ‘mapped out a unique market position globally’.