Hike Messenger, which describes itself as India’s only homegrown instant messaging app, said it had passed the 35 million user mark, as the company also picked up $65 million in funding.

It added 15 million users in two months, with 50 per cent active every month. It is handling more than 10 billion messages per month.

More than 90 per cent of Hike users are in India, with more than 80 per cent aged under 25.

The new funding round has been led by New York investment firm Tiger Global, and Hike is also backed by Bharti SoftBank – a company which invested $7 million in Hike last year.

Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and CEO of Hike, is also the son of Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, which is the group that also owns Indian operator Airtel.

Kavin Bharti Mittal said: “We can see that our users love Hike and we’re now doing over 10 billion messages per month. That’s a pretty big number. With the new investment we’re going to double down. We now have the ammo to tackle the more audacious items on our list.”

The Hike CEO also said that the company has “a great shot at becoming the first mobile internet company for India to cross 100 million users”.

Lee Fixel, partner at Tiger Global, said: “Hike’s grasp and understanding of the Indian market was apparent from the time we first met. The company’s incredible traction, the rapid pace at which its team operates and its sharp focus are compelling.”

Hike is available across operating systems, including BlackBerry and Nokia platforms, as well as Android, iOS and Windows Phone.