Venture Catalysts, SOSV invests in social e-commerce startup using advanced interactive technology

Venture Catalysts in a pre-Series funding round in social ecommerce startup KikoTV. SOSV, a global VC firm led the round. The round also saw participation from Neil Bahal, CEO of Negen Capital along with other prominent angels.

KikoTV is a live-streaming social e-commerce platform that enables uses to virtually shop, sell, discover, and access entertainment all at once.

Founded by ShivamVarshney, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, and Alok Chawla, an MBA from NMIMS, KikoTV is an application with an innovative intent-based model of live-video commerce which blends shopping and entertainment. Its prominent value proposition leverages advanced technologies to deliver a two-way interactive shopping experience to customers by enabling them to step into a virtual store and interact with as well as receive assistance from the sellers.

Speaking about the funding, ShivamVarshney, Co-founder & CEO – KIKO TV, commented, “We're excited to be associated with Venture Catalysts and their illustrious group of angel investors. Our plan is to use the funding to speed up the seller onboarding process, develop the product, and expand the team.”

Anil Jain, Co-founder of Venture Catalysts added, “On the back of its unique service offering, KikoTV is poised to disrupt a burgeoning social commerce market whose GMV is currently pegged between USD 1.5 billion and USD 2 billion, and is projected to hit USD 16-20 billion valuation in the next five years. The founding team’s commitment to achieving its short- and long-term goals is commendable and makes us confident in our investment. On our part, we will support them at every step of their growth journey. We wish them continued success.”

Venture Catalysts is India’s first integrated incubator. It invests $250K – $1.5 Million in early-stage startups that have the potential to create enduring value for a long time. Venture Catalysts brings a lethal combination of Capital, Mentoring, and Business Network to help investee companies to succeed. Their innovation provides value to startups through its extensive angel network, funding, community, services, and co-working facility.