Gogii Inc., a Marina del Rey mobile communication company that recently completed its third financing round, is gearing up to nearly double its staff.

The company, which developed a text-messaging application for smart phones, raised $15 million last month in a funding round that was led by GRP Partners, and included Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Matrix Partners.

Scott Lahman, Gogii co-founder and chief executive, said the financing will help him add more employees; as of October, the company had 35 people on staff.

“We’ll be at least 50 percent bigger by the end of the year, but quite possibly increasing by upwards of 100 percent,” Lahman said.

Gogii’s application, textPlus, lets users share photos and text each other in chat groups for free. The app has been downloaded more than 14 million times since it launched in 2009. It is free if customers accept advertising, or $2.99 if they don’t.

The company is planning to launch a product later this year that Lahman said will be a “more social and fun destination for our users.”

Opening Shop

A New York aerospace company has landed in Pasadena.

Honeybee Robotics opened a West Coast office in Pasadena last month to be close to one of its biggest clients, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The company specializes in creating robotic systems that will work in space. It has worked on several projects with JPL and NASA, including developing a rock abrasion tool used by the Mars Exploration Rover in 2003. Recently, Honeybee received funding to develop a Mars drill prototype for JPL.

The company plans to take advantage of its proximity to Caltech and other local aerospace companies to find employees and new business.

“We’re on the path to get some contracts going,” said Honeybee Vice President Kris Zacny.

Angel Ascension

Tech Coast Angels announced last month that Mike Napoli is now chairman.

The Southern California angel investing group has invested in a number of local companies in the last year, including Green Dot Corp. and Language Weaver Inc.

Napoli, who has been a member of TCA since 2000, replaces former Chairman Richard Sudek.

“Our goal is to make TCA the most inviting and attractive place for entrepreneurs to bring their game-changing ideas and plans for support,” Napoli said.

Staff reporter Natalie Jarvey can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.