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<ul><li><keyword id="6354743" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon-india" source="Orion">Amazon India</keyword> on Friday confirmed the acquisition of <keyword id="4994766" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="glowroad" source="Orion">GlowRoad</keyword>, a women-focused <keyword id="623994" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-commerce" source="Orion">social commerce</keyword> company.</li><li>Several media reports suggest that GlowRoad was valued at $75 million in this deal.</li><li><keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> believes that the move will help the company achieve its goal to digitise 10 million businesses by 2025.</li></ul>Amazon India on Friday confirmed the acquisition of GlowRoad, a women-focused social commerce company. This is the first investment ecommerce giant Amazon has made to grow its social commerce vertical in India. Though the transactional details of the acquisition have not been revealed, several media reports suggested that GlowRoad was valued at $75 million in this deal. TechCrunch and Economic Times<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/amazon-acquires-reseller-platform-glowroad-to-bolster-social-commerce-ambitions/articleshow/90987418.cms?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=update&amp;ncode=84f1fd2cbcf57e646c4069c0e7654a795cdef8eacdf35ffc12176d234712e5a50eb7dce5cc8faf0dd69e01b8210009d59aff80b374da1320677d663dcc32d94d8f2bad7f26e87c038f3aa21855862ce3"> reports </a>also suggested that Amazon acquired the company in an all-cash deal. Amazon believes that the move will help the company achieve its goal to digitise 10 million businesses by 2025. “Amazon continues to explore new ways to digitise India and delight customers, micro- entrepreneurs and sellers and bringing GlowRoad onboard is a key step in this direction. Together with GlowRoad, Amazon will help accelerate entrepreneurship among millions of creators, homemakers, students, and small sellers from across the country. This acquisition will complement GlowRoad’s already loved service with Amazon’s technology, infrastructure, and digital payments capabilities, bringing more efficiency and cost-saving for everyone,” Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider. GlowRoad was founded in 2017 by Sonal Verma, Kunal Sinha, Nitesh Pant, Shekhar Sahu and Nilesh Padariya. The founders of the company, cumulatively, held close to 50% shareholdings in the company. Founders Verma and Sinha owned a relatively larger chunk among the other founders. The company has raised over $31 million to date, from marquee investors like Korea Investment Partners, Vertex Ventures, CDH Investments and RB Investments. Accel is the largest shareholder in the company, with nearly 19% stake, according to business intelligence platform Tracxn. The five-year-old startup raised its last round in November 2020, when it raised $7 million. GlowRoad is a social commerce network, which enables suppliers to sell their products to end customers through resellers across more than 20,000 pincodes in 2,000 cities. The company focuses on Tier II and III markets through resellers, who are typically housewives, temporary workers or students. According to the company’s website, a reseller can make up to ₹20,000 per month if they sell close to 100 products a month. It claims to have over 6 million resellers on the platform. The company competes with DealShare, CityMall and YouTube-owned SimSim. Meesho too was in the segment, but the company changed its business model to a full-fledged ecommerce platform. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/article/by-commuting-less-heres-how-employees-and-companies-contribute-to-global-climate-change-and-sustainability-goals/articleshow/90994259.cms" style="">By commuting less, here’s how employees and companies contribute to global climate change and sustainability goals </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/hcl-tech-paytm-nestle-tvs-motor-among-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-april-22/slidelist/90992626.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" style="">HCL Tech, Paytm, Nestle, TVS Motor among stocks to watch out for on April 22</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oneplus-new-upcoming-phone-in-india-oneplus-10r-5g/articleshow/90994523.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Here's what the upcoming OnePlus 10R 5G will look like</a>

Amazon acquires its first social commerce startup in India

<ul><li><keyword id="8177368" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Citymall" source="Orion">CityMall</keyword> has raised $75 million to double down on its current workforce and expand to newer cities.</li><li>The company also plans to introduce newer categories on its platform and expand existing ones.</li><li>Though the company has not disclosed its valuation, cofounder Angad Kikla confirmed that it is above $300 million.</li></ul>Indian social commerce platform CityMall on Wednesday announced its $75 million fundraise to double down on its current workforce and expand to newer cities. The company plans to hire 400 people in leadership and engineering positions in the next 12 months. The company also plans to introduce newer categories on its platform and expand existing ones, along with building a stronger supply chain and tech stack. It is also looking to expand its geographical presence to 60 towns in the next 12-15 months, the company’s cofounder Angad Kikla told Business Insider. Overall, the company plans to enter 100 towns in the next 18 months. These towns will be shortlisted based on the digital literacy in the region, per capita income and penetration of other ecommerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. The three-year-old startup’s latest Series C round is led by Norwest Venture Partners. General Catalyst, Citius, Jungle Ventures, Arena Ventures, Elevation, Accel and Waterbridge also participated in the round. Though the company has not disclosed its valuation, Kikla confirmed that it is above $300 million. Overall, the company has raised over $110 million. CityMall enables micro-entrepreneurs — known as community leaders on the platform — to set up their virtual stores on WhatsApp and sell products to their close networks using ecommerce tools and customer analytics. The company currently claims to have a network of 30,000 community leaders across 25 towns and cities, including Sonipat, Panipat, Rewari, Faizabad and others. The company — founded in 2019 by Kikla and Naisheel Vardhan — deals in grocery, fresh and packaged fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, electronics and fashion products in the small towns and villages. “80% of our customers do not use any other ecommerce apps,” Kikla said. CityMall currently competes with DealShare, Glowroad and Simsim. Meesho too was in the segment, but the company changed its business model to a full-fledged ecommerce platform. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/hero-motocorp-shares-tank-7-after-it-raid-reveals-1000-crore-bogus-expenses/articleshow/90509825.cms" style="">Hero MotoCorp shares tank 7% after IT raid reveals ₹1,000 crore bogus expenses </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/link-pan-with-aadhaar-before-march-31-to-avoid-any-penalty-or-other-consequences/articleshow/90510078.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" style="">Three days left to link PAN with Aadhaar to avoid any penalty or other consequences</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/india-might-be-building-a-super-app-for-its-farmers-combining-weather-market-updates-advisories-and-more-in-one-app/articleshow/90509756.cms" style="">India might be building a super app for its farmers, combining weather, market updates, advisories and more in one app</a>

CityMall is looking to hire 400 people this year with its latest fundraise

<ul><li><keyword id="3480589" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meesho" source="Orion">Meesho</keyword> has raised $570 million, doubling its valuation to $4.9 billion from $2.1 billion reported in April. </li><li>It aims to reach 100 million monthly transacting users by December 2022, growing over seven-times from the current 15 million.</li><li>Meesho will also invest a part of this capital in its grocery delivery marketplace Farmiso, which was launched earlier this year.</li></ul>Social commerce platform Meesho has raised $570 million in a round led by Fidelity Management and Facebook cofounder-owned B Capital. The company has doubled its valuation to $4.9 billion from $2.1 billion<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/facebook-backed-meesho-raises-300-million-from-softbank-vision-fund-2-valuation-jumps-to-over-2-billion/articleshow/81907721.cms"> reported in April</a> this year. The company plans to use this capital to double down on its research and development (R&amp;D) teams and acquire more users. It aims to reach 100 million monthly transacting users by December 2022, growing over seven-times from the current 15 million. For this, it will deploy the capital to grow its technology and product team and increase its selection to include over 50 million products. Meesho among the biggest bets of this year The year 2021 has been a record-breaking year for Indian startups so far. The new age companies are now hitting the public market, cracking the biggest funding deals and more companies being valued at over a billion dollars. According to business intelligence firm Tracxn, Indian startups have raised $23 billion in 2021 till September 1. This is significantly higher than the $13 million raised by the industry all through 2020. Here are some of the biggest funding rounds of 2021 so far: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startup </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Funding </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Valuation </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Investors </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Swiggy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$800 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$5 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Falcon Edge Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Capital and others </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Eruditus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$650 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.2 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Accel, SoftBank, Leeds Illuminate, Prosus and others </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">ShareChat </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$647 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2.88 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tiger Global Management, Mirae-Naver Asia Growth fund </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Meesho </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$570 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$4.9 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fidelity Management, B Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ola </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$500 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$6 billion+ </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Temasek, Warburg Pincus, others </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Byju’s </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$490 millon </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$16.87 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">UBS, Blackstone, ADQ, Asmaan Ventures </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Walmart-owned ecommerce biggie Flipkart too raised <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-raises-3-6-billion-at-a-valuation-of-over-37-billion/articleshow/84338594.cms">$3.6 billion this year</a>, at a valuation of $37 billion, but the company is way past the startup tag to be a part of this list. Meesho plans to expand its grocery vertical Meesho will also invest a part of this capital in its grocery delivery marketplace Farmiso, which was launched earlier this year. The company also plans to hire aggressively for this specific vertical. The six-year-old startup runs a three-sided marketplace with suppliers, resellers and customers at the crux of it. Resellers buy unbranded fashion products from suppliers and later, sell it to the customers via social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram. It also has a direct sales channel. The latest round witnessed participation from new investors such as Footpath Ventures, Trifecta Capital and Good Capital. Even existing investors Prosus Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Facebook infused an undisclosed amount in the social commerce startup. DealShare — next in line to enter the unicorn club? Meesho was founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in 2015 and is currently the biggest social commerce platform in the country. It competes with Tiger Global-backed DealShare, Accel-backed Glowroad and Elevation Capital-backed CityMall. DealShare is expected to be the next social commerce startup to enter the unicorn club, a startup with a valuation of over a billion dollars. According to an Entrackr <a href="https://entrackr.com/2021/08/exclusive-dealshare-in-talks-to-raise-a-new-round-at-over-1-bn-valuation/">report</a>, the company is in talks with new and existing investors to raise a fresh round at over $1 billion valuation. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/the-amazon-bribery-case-in-india-is-getting-murkier-and-the-lack-of-transparency-is-not-helping/articleshow/86553927.cms">The murky case of bribery, allegedly on behalf of Amazon, has many unanswered questions </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/one-in-every-ten-feature-phone-user-in-india-uses-lava-and-it-is-now-going-to-the-public-to-raise-money/articleshow/86635642.cms">One in every ten feature phone user in India uses Lava, and it is now going to the public to raise money</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/indian-overseas-bank-shares-jump-as-rbi-allows-it-to-give-loans-without-restrictions/articleshow/86635420.cms">Indian Overseas Bank lost six years and half its business to clean up its bad loans but the market is cheering</a>

Meesho raises more than half a billion dollars in the fourth biggest funding round this year

<ul><li>LB Investments co-led the round, with participation from <keyword id="2441277" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung-Ventures">Samsung Ventures</keyword> and others.</li><li><keyword id="8861782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trell">Trell</keyword> has raised $62 million since its launch in 2017.</li><li>The company has over 100 million downloads and 50 million monthly active users.</li></ul>Bengaluru-based video-focused discovery platform Trell has raised $45 million in a Series B funding round led by financial group Mirae Asset, clothing and fashion brand H&amp;M Group. LB Investments co-led the round, with participation from KTB Network, Samsung Ventures and Fosun RZ Capital. Trell had raised $11.4 million in Series A funding, in August 2020, as a aftermath of the growth momentum it had gained post the TikTok ban in India. The discovery platform had also launched a <keyword id="623994" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-commerce">social commerce</keyword> section on its app around the same time to enable users to watch personalised product recommendations across beauty, personal care and wellness categories. Trell, founded in August 2017 by a team of Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay alumni Pulkit Agrawal, Prashant Sachan, Arun Lodhi and NITIE alumnus Bimal Kartheek Rebba, has raised $62 million to date. It will use the latest fundraise to expand its social commerce operations by entering the apparel, home care, mom and baby-care categories in the months to come. The startup claims to have over 100 million downloads on its platform and over 50 million monthly active users (MAU). Its content library features videos in 8 regional languages garnering over 20 billion monthly views, Trell said in a press note. The company is now looking to launch in additional six languages and expand its footprint in over 2000 cities and towns of India. Over the last few months, Trell has on boarded over 500 personal care and beauty brands, including Maybelline, L'Oréal and Garnier. “Trell has become the launchpad for many up-and-coming D2C [direct-to-consumer] brands and advertisers, who are leveraging our community of regional content creators to advertise their products and services on the platform… Our aim is to enable over 2000 brands to penetrate the deeper pockets of the country and communicate with their potential customers through regional content creators by 2022,” the company’s chief operating officer and co-founder Rebba, said. Meanwhile, the company’s chief technology officer and co-founder Lodhi added that they have been leveraging on their artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology and neural networks to create users’ psychographic profile of customers’ behavioural patterns on the platform. This allows the platform to provide personalised content and product recommendation for the customers. These developments have also led Trell to record 10-15 times year-on-year growth and 30% month-on-month growth since inception, the company said. Social commerce is still at a nascent stage in India, but the players in this segment have been growing at an exponential rate. Earlier in May, Meesho became the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/meesho-the-latest-company-to-join-the-unicorn-club-aims-to-build-a-single-ecosystem-to-help-smbs/articleshow/81953840.cms">first social commerce</a> platform to enter the unicorn club. It has raised $515 million to date from <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword>, FaceBook and <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword>. DealShare, on the other hand, recently closed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/social-commerce-startup-dealshare-raises-144-million-from-tiger-global/articleshow/84227890.cms">$144 million round</a>, taking its total fundraise to $183 million to date. Its investors include Tiger Global, <keyword id="678811" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Westbridge-Capital">WestBridge Capital</keyword>, Alpha Wave Incubation and Z3Partners. Other players in this segment are Glowroad,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/citymall-a-startup-that-helps-budding-entrepreneurs-start-their-ventures-on-whatsapp-has-raised-over-22-million/articleshow/83741383.cms"> CityMall</a> and SimSim. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-raises-3-6-billion-at-a-valuation-of-over-37-billion/articleshow/84338594.cms">Flipkart raises $3.6 billion at a valuation of over $37 billion, to focus on ‘millions of small and medium Indian businesses’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-users-can-now-apply-for-zomato-ipo-from-today/articleshow/84334784.cms">Paytm Money now allows investors to apply for an IPO before opening, Zomato being the first</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-has-raised-100-million-in-debt-to-start-producing-its-electric-scooters-soon/articleshow/84338315.cms">Ola Electric has raised $100 million in debt to start producing its electric scooters soon</a>

Fashion retailer H&M has led a $45 million round in video discovery and commerce app Trell

<ul><li><keyword id="8177368" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="CityMall">CityMall</keyword> has raised $22.5 million in Series B round led by General Catalyst and Jungle Ventures.</li><li>The company will also look into expanding its logistics network to cater to the demand of its customers.</li><li>Meesho continues to be the highest funded social commerce startup, with more than $500 million in external funding till date.</li></ul>Indian social commerce startup CityMall has closed its Series B funding round at $22.5 million on Tuesday. The round was led by General Catalyst and Jungle Ventures, with participation from existing investors Accel, Elevation Capital (formerly known as SAIF Partners) and WaterBridge Ventures. The Gurugram-based startup had closed its <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/social-e-commerce-platform-citymall-raises-11-mn-in-new-funding-round-121032501086_1.html">Series A </a>round led by Accel Partners at $11 million earlier in March, this year. Overall, CityMall has raised a funding of $36.5 million since its inception in 2019. This round has catapulted CityMall to the position of the third most funded startup in the nascent social commerce segment. Social commerce is a subset of e-commerce that relies on social media and other online media to drive sales. Currently, it is led by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/meesho-the-latest-company-to-join-the-unicorn-club-aims-to-build-a-single-ecosystem-to-help-smbs/articleshow/81953840.cms">Meesho</a> with a funding of over $515 million and a unicorn tag. It is followed by DealShare that has raised about $144 million to date. A unicorn, in startup parlance, is a privately held firm with a valuation of more than $1 billion. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cfe2f3;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Top funded social commerce startups in India </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startup </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Funding </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Key Investors </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Meesho </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$515 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SoftBank Vision Fund, Facebook, Sequoia Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">DealShare </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$144 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Falcon Edge Capital, Matrix Partners India, Tiger Global, InnoVen </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Glowroad </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$31.3 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Accel, Korea Investment Partners, Vertex Ventures, ADH Investments </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CityMall </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$36.5 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">General Catalyst, Jungle Ventures, Accel, Elevation Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SimSim </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$15.5 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Accel India, Shunwei Capital, Good Capital </td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="border-left:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.75pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.75pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> *Source: Crunchbase </td></tr></tbody></table> CityMall plans to use this fresh funding towards expanding its current workforce of 700 by hiring 150 employees, enhancing technology and building its logistics network that will include warehouses and hubs. It also plans to strengthen its presence in the existing 40 towns and expand into 100 new towns in the coming months. The company, founded by Angad Kikla and Naisheel Verdhan, enables micro-entrepreneurs (known as community leaders on the platform) to set up their virtual stores on WhatsApp and sell products to their close networks using ecommerce tools and customer analytics. Commenting on the latest fundraise, CityMall’s founder Kikla said, “We are building CityMall with a vision to transform their [users] experience with the internet -- by providing them with access to earning opportunities as well as affordable products and services.” Meanwhile, Verdhan added that the company aims to build a decentralised ecommerce ecosystem for the next 200-300 million internet users living in India’s small towns and villages. Notably, the company’s target audience are users from Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV regions of the country. Earlier, it focused on providing affordable everyday products like groceries and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) more to its customers. However, it recently expanded horizontally to offer electronics, electrical appliances, cosmetics and apparels. According to the previous press notes shared by the company, it has built a network of 20,000 community leaders who are catering to the needs of 2 lakh customers across communities. The company claims that its model, while offering traditional ecommerce services, helps avoid major customer acquisition as well as logistics cost. "As internet penetration reaches beyond metros and into smaller cities and communities, new and innovative social commerce models like CityMall have the potential to offer consumers better buying experiences through right assortment, price points, and support while democratising entrepreneurship opportunities for millions,” Alex Tran, partner at General Catalyst, said. 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Amazon acquires its first social commerce startup in India

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Meesho raises more than half a billion dollars in the fourth biggest funding round this year

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