SimSim, a video-based social commerce app established by former Paytm, McKinsey and Foodpanda executives, has raised $8 million (approximately Rs 57.12 crore at current exchange rates) in its Series B funding round.
The New Delhi-based startup has raised the funding from existing investors, including China’s Shunwei Capital and venture capital firm Accel Partners, multiple media reports said.
SimSim will use the funds used to expand its influencer network and enhance its technological infrastructure. Company co-founder Amit Bagaria said it was looking to re-create the social and interactive experience of offline shopping through its platform.
The funding comes just months after the firm raised Rs 43.49 crore (around $6 million) in its Series A funding round in November last year. That round was jointly led by Accel and Shunwei. Both investors took a 12.5% stake in SimSim during that exercise, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies at the time.
The latest investment takes the total funding raised by SimSim so far to $16 million.
VCCircle has reached out to SimSim on the details of the Series B financing and will update this report accordingly.
SimSim, operated by SZS Tech Pvt. Ltd, was founded by Bagaria, Kunal Suri and Saurabh Vashishtha. It officially began operations in July last year.
The Series B commitment to the startup is the latest example of investor interest in the burgeoning social commerce segment, with companies seeking to move beyond traditional e-commerce models and attract more consumers in Tier-II, Tier-III and rural markets.
Beijing-based Shunwei is no stranger to the segment in the Indian context. In November 2018, it took part in a $50 million Series C funding round in the Bengaluru- and California-based Meesho.
Meesho itself has so far been one of the biggest beneficiaries of investor attention to social commerce. Last August, the company said it raised $125 million in a round led by South African tech conglomerate and investor Naspers. In June, Facebook invested in Meesho five years after first acquiring an Indian startup, Little Eye Labs.
In October last year, at least two social commerce startups raised funding. HappyShappy raised seed funding from a clutch of high-profile investors including Beerud Sheth, Samuel Choi, Shivashish Chatterjee, and Yuvraja C Singh. Meanwhile, community-led commerce platform Marsplay raised funding from Venture Highway and a few angel investors including Xiaomi executive Alvin Tse.
