VentureBeat

ShoZu, a London-based company that lets users connect their cell phones to social networking sites, has raised $12 million in a third round of funding.

ShoZu was one of the finalists for “best mobile start-up” in the 2007 Crunchies awarded this month. The company says its service lets users transfer photos from their mobile phones to Web sites such as Facebook and Flickr without complicated navigation. Users can also receive copies of their friends’ latest Flickr photos on their phones.

ShoZu’s application is available on 317 phone models in more than 100 countries. And following deals with Motorola and Samsung in 2007, the application should ship pre-installed on 50 million phones this year.

The number of users downloading ShoZu’s application to their phones doubles every month, the company says.

The funding was led by SEB Venture Capital, with participation from Atlas Venture, Crescendo Ventures and TTP Ventures. VentureWire reports the money will be spent on growth initiatives proposed by SEB, including a deal with at least one more mobile phone manufacturer.