Tango, the company that provides mobile video and audio calling over data connections for mobile devices, has announced the close of a $40 million round of Series C funding. The funding, provided by Qualcomm Ventures and Access Industries, Inc., brings the company’s total funding to around $100 million.

“Qualcomm recognizes the importance of video on mobile devices and has been working closely with Tango’s team to help enhance video quality and performance,” said Nagraj Kashyap, Vice President of Qualcomm Ventures. “Tango is a clear leader in this space and we are proud to play a role in helping boost the company’s growth.”

If you are unfamiliar with Tango, take a look at this introductory trailer the company has made:

The video messages and “surprises” in the video are two of the newest features of the app. Tango will be monetizing those “surprise” animations through micro-transactions.

Though Tango might seem to simply be a rip-off of Apple’s FaceTime, Tango is the more popular choice because it can be used with wireless data connections instead of just Wi-Fi. Also, Tango can be used cross-platform so that Android device users can video chat with their friends on iPhones or iPads. Last October Tango released a desktop client for PC, placing itself firmly as a competitor to Skype.

“When we launched Tango 18 months ago, we were focused on building the leading consumer video calling service. Today, we have accomplished this goal and expanded our vision,” said Uri Raz, co-founder and CEO of Tango. “Tango holds a special place for our members as it allows them to stay in touch with their closest friends and family. The same way people interact in the physical world by sharing photos and videos, sending text messages, and making calls, our mission is to provide these same services on smartphones and we’re excited to give our members more.”

Tango now claims 45 million users have set up an account with the service. To put that in perspective, that is a greater number accounts than Instagram, which was just bought by Facebook for $1 billion, can claim. So, it is no wonder that acquisition rumors surrounding the company are spreading. Kym McNicholas at Pando Daily has interviewed venture capitalists and analysts about whether Tango might be a good fit for Google. Considering Google’s recent push for video using their Google+ Hangouts, this might not be such a far-fetched idea.

What do you think? Will we see mobile Hangouts using Tango software anytime soon? Let me know in the comments below.