Wheelings & Dealings: GNum Transforms Telephone Numbers into Links for Free Calling

By Casey Houser
Contributing Writer

GNum, a Singpore-based telecommunications startup, recently announced that it has raised $5.6 million in seed funding to advance the operations of its company.

Tembusu Partners led the round of funding which, Tech in Asia reports, is possibly the largest amount of initial funding any company has raised in the country. GNum is a Web-based chat service that promises enhanced privacy because it works by converting users' phone numbers into URLs that they can share with their contacts. It works by first allowing users to create URLs that correspond with their phone numbers and then allowing recipients of those links to call the numbers/links for free as long as the calls terminate in Singapore.

This can certainly offer at least a modicum of privacy to its users because they will not need to share their phone numbers outright. However, as Tech in Asia points out, it does not necessarily make calls any more secure—a distinction of which callers should make themselves aware.

The service also attempts to make calling easy through its Web portal. It offers an interface from which callers can send and receive calls. If they wish, however, Android (News - Alert) and iOS users can make use of the basic apps that GNum also makes available.

What further separates this service, and therefore this company, is the fact that it does not use VoIP as so many other services do. Instead, GNum says, it believes direct connections will make for clearer calls. The fact the company operates primarily in Singapore obviously marks its potential for growth—it should be able to extend the service to other countries if it can work with other telecoms to help route its calls. Its round of seed funding will reportedly help it expand in Singapore and reach out to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Following its release in those Asian countries, it also seeks markets in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, and the U.S.

Tech in Asia says the company has gained little traction in the two years it has been in business. However, the business model should easily extend to other countries with a high Internet-connected population. For people who wish to speak face to face but who also do not want to reveal their phone numbers, GNum could be an easy way to make a connection. The company promises that its interface will continue to grow as the brand expands. The service is still in beta, and GNum is reaching out to its users for feedback on how to bring the application out of that stage of development.

Edited by Maurice Nagle