Groupon announced that it has completed its $950 million round of financing, which has been discussed in the tech press over the last couple weeks. The company says it will use the funds to fuel global expansion, invest in technology, and provide liquidity for employees and early investors.

The funding comes from Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures. Past funding rounds were led by New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, and Mail.ru Group (formerly DST).

"We’re thrilled that Groupon has earned the confidence of some of the world’s most respected investment firms," said CEO and founder Andrew Mason. "With their support, we will continue on our mission to change the way people shop locally and serve the world’s local businesses."

In the announcement, Groupon took the time to point to a few of it accomplishments from the past year, which include expanding into 35 countries, launching in almost 500 new markets, growing subscribers to over 50 million, saving consumers over $1.5 billion, working with 58,000 local businesses, and serving over 100,000 deals. 

That was 2010, but 2011 may be even brighter given this new funding. Groupon is also gearing up to advertise during the Super Bowl pre-game show next month (the big game was sold out). TV campaigns could greatly expand Groupon’s brand recognition among consumers and lead the way for significantly more growth. 

While Groupon is battling its way into Australia (it launched there under the name Stardeals for the time being) against a Groupon clone that apparently took its name out from under it, there have also been complaints of misleading deals, though the company has said it is working to improve its quality control process. 

These would appear to be minor hiccups in a pretty impressive journey to deals domination. Competition is coming from all sides, however, and that includes from some pretty big players like Google, LivingSocial (with funding from Amazon), and Facebook. All the more reason to advertise on Super Bowl Sunday.