Amazon buys VC-backed Indian social commerce player

Established in 2017, the company facilitates group buying through resellers who can source more than 100 categories of products directly from manufacturers and wholesalers. It claims 6m resellers across more than 1,000 cities, many of them homemakers in lower-tier urban centres. They use their networks to drive demand for products and then place orders and arrange bulk delivery.

GlowRoad recently announced plans to expand into Southeast Asia and expressed interest in pursuing M&A in areas such as video technology, image recognition, and intelligent product recommendations.

The company received USD 2m in funding from Accel Partners in 2017, according to AVCJ Research. It re-upped two years later in a USD 10m round that also featured China-based CDH Investments. Korea Investment Partners and Vertex Ventures contributed USD 11.5m later in 2019, and then Accel, Vertex, and IND Fund invested USD 7m in 2020.

“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 said in a statement.

Meesho is the best-funded start-up in India’s social commerce, although the company is said to be less reliant on resellers than many of its peers. Last October, Meesho closed a USD 570m Series F at a valuation of USD 4.9bn, more than double what it was worth five months earlier. VC-backed competitors include DealShare, Shop101, and Kiko TV.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Trade sale
• Technology
• India
• TMT
• Amazon
• Accel Partners
• Vertex Ventures
• CDH Investments Management