Swirl raises $1.1M seed funding to take video commerce to the global market

Swirl is a video commerce platform that was founded in 2021 by Kaizad Hansotia and Bheshaj Joshi. The founders observed a glaring gap in e-commerce: despite the boom in online shopping, a staggering 98% of visitors to e-commerce sites left without making a purchase.

Identifying live commerce as the bridge between the digital and physical shopping experience, Swirl aimed to infuse the human touch into online shopping. 

Secures seed funding

Now, with a focus on expanding internationally, Swirl has raised $1.1 million in a seed funding round led by Shastra VC (formerly Veda VC). The investment will also enhance the company's product offerings, with a focus on deep AI integration for extracting contextual insights from videos, as per the company's statement.

Who are the investors?

Besides Shastra VC, The round also saw participation from a diverse group of angel investors Aakrit Vaish (CEO Haptik), Shan Krishnasamy (Ex-CTO Freshworks), Mohammed Dewji (CEO MeTL), Naim Siddiqui (CEO Momentum), Anil Goteti (Ex-SVP Flipkart), Jiten Patri (Ex-CMO Future Group), Arun Prabhudesai (TrakinTech), Neha Kulwal (MD Mitgo), Ratan Ingu (CEO Uncode), Paresh Chaudhry (Ex-CEO Madison), Rajesh Janey (Founder, Scalorg), Shammi Moza (Ex-Flipkart), Amit Sharma (Executive Director - NextGen Intl. DMCC), Prashant Rathi (Co-Founder at PhotonFin), Sharmil Shah (CTO of Delivery Solutions), Angelo Anthony (MD, Standard Chartered Bank), Zulfikar Chandoo (Founder at ZC Capital Advisory), Vaibhav Kothari (Founder OMVAI), Shah Faisal (Head of Corporate Banking at BOK International Bank), Rustom Mody (Sr. Vice President at Sun Pharma), Apoorv Sharma (Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Uber) and others.

These angel investors come from India, the Middle East, and the USA.

Leveraging AI to transform video commerce

According to founder & CEO Kaizad Hansotia, Swirl will focus on leveraging AI to transform video commerce. By analyzing video context metadata and employing large language models (LLMs), The startup aims to deliver a personalized shopping experience that not only boosts sales but also enhances search engine optimization (SEO) through organic traffic.

In addition, Swirl will leverage video context metadata to train a 24/7 chatbot within the video, offering instant product recommendations and enticing users with add-ons and bundle offers.

It has partnered with top-tier brands such as Puma, VIVO, and Arvind Brands.

“Swirl taps into the trillion-dollar global video commerce market with a unique approach to building a global leader in enterprise and SaaS from India. Their differentiated product, frugal mindset, and relentless focus on business fundamentals positions them well for scaling up across global markets," said Venus Dhuria, Partner at Shastra VC.

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