Helsinki, Aug 11 (IANS): HMD Global, the maker of Nokia-branded phones, on Tuesday said it has raised $230 million (approximately Rs 1,715 crore) in the first closing of its current funding round that will help it expand presence in several markets including India.

The company raised the money from some of its top global strategic partners, including Google and Qualcomm, VentureBeat reported.

"Since the very beginning, HMD Global has worked to build strong bonds with our strategic partners," HMD Global CEO Florian Seiche said in a statement.

"This additional investment further validates our long-term business strategy and is evidence of our collective mission to make modern mobile technology accessible to everyone."

HMD Global said the investment will further fuel strategic vision in several key areas including the company's mission to make 5G smartphones accessible to consumers across the world, with an emphasis on strong partnerships with US carriers.

It will also help the company's transition to digital-first offerings as part of a new post-Covid reality.

The Finnish company said the funding will also help it expand its presence in key growth markets, including the recently introduced operations in Brazil, as well as Africa and India.

Finally, the investment will help the business strengthen its position beyond just hardware and into a holistic mobile service provider, the company said.

This year alone, HMD Global launched its international data roaming service, HMD Connect, enhanced its mobile cybersecurity capabilities with the acquisition of assets of Valona Labs, and built dedicated resources on software, security and services with a new research and development Centre of Excellence in Tampere, Finland.

Since the company began its operations in 2016, HMD Global is now active in 91 markets across eight regions and 250,000 retail outlets and has sold over 240 million phones to date.