Swirl, an AI-enhanced content commerce platform, has raised $1.1 million (approximately INR 9.1 crore) in seed funding. The investment round was spearheaded by Shastra VC, attracting angel investors from India, the Middle East, and the United States. The influx of funds is earmarked for expanding Swirl’s product development teams, particularly targeting growth in the US and Middle East markets.
The platform, co-founded in 2021 by Kaizad Hansotia and Bheshaj Joshi, innovates in the video commerce space by making short videos and live streams shoppable. Swirl’s technology is set to revolutionize consumer engagement by utilizing AI to derive contextual insights from video content, thereby personalizing and enhancing the viewer’s experience. This approach has already attracted partnerships with notable brands such as Puma, VIVO, TVS, Arvind, Momstore, Homesrus, Gkhair, and LG. These collaborations span a diverse range of sectors, including D2C, retail, automotive, fintech, and other key consumer domains.
Here’s what the two co-founders had to say about the funding round:
“We have already built a strong validation with global brands across India, the Middle East, and Europe. With the funding, we plan to enter the $100 billion+ US and UAE market while strengthening our product suite.”
— Kaizad Hansotia
“By harnessing the power of AI using video context metadata and LLM, Swirl will be able to drive quantifiable sales uplift, creating a seamless and personalized customer experience that is 10X better than what a user sees today.”
— Bheshaj Joshi
Featured image: (From left) Swirl CTO Bheshaj Joshi and CEO Kaizad Hansotia. Credit: Swirl
