Indian social commerce app Kiko TV nets additional pre-series A funding

Indian social ecommerce startup Kiko TV has raised an undisclosed amount of additional pre-series A funding from Venture Catalysts, a local integrated incubator and accelerator.

The Kiko TV team / Photo credit: Kiko TV

The funding was led by US-based VC firm SOSV, which announced its participation in the round earlier this year.

The round also saw participation from Neil Bahal, CEO of Negen Capital, along with other prominent angel backers, according to a statement from Venture Catalysts.

Founded in 2020, Kiko TV is a livestreaming social ecommerce platform that allows its users to shop, sell, discover, and access entertainment in a single place. The startup’s platform offers buyers an interactive experience by enabling them to step into a virtual store and interact with sellers.

Kiko TV’s co-founder and CEO Shivam Varshney said that the company will use the funds to accelerate the seller onboarding process, develop its product, and expand the team.

“On the back of its unique service offering, Kiko TV is poised to disrupt a burgeoning social commerce market whose GMV is currently pegged between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion and is projected to hit US$16 billion to US$20 billion valuation in the next five years,” said Venture Catalysts co-founder Anil Jain.

Venture Catalysts invests US$250,000 to US$1.5 million in early-stage startups. Being an integrated incubator, it also provides startups with mentoring and access to its business network to help its portfolio firms succeed.