Ecommerce Enablement Startup GoKwik Raises $15 Mn Series A From Sequoia, Matrix

Ecommerce enablement startup GoKwik has raised INR 112 Cr ($15 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. Matrix Partners India and RTP Global also participated in this round of funding.

The startup had raised INR 40 Cr ($5.5 Mn) in a Pre-Series A round led by Matrix Partners India in September this year. 

Founded in 2020 by Chirag Taneja, Vivek Bajpai and Ankush Talwar, GoKwik focuses on boosting conversion rates across ecommerce funnels. It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve problems like COD conversion rates using the startup’s checkout and UPI solutions.

Since its launch, the startup claims to have onboarded more than 100 brands, powering an annualised GMV of $250 Mn and helping its clients increase conversion rates by more than 20%. Some of its clients include the Good Glamm Group (MyGlamm), LimeRoad, Mamaearth, EyeMyEye, boAt, OZiva, The Souled Store, Noise and VMart. 

With its initial product offerings, GoKwik focused on using AI/ML models to help reduce the return to origin (RTO) orders and increase cash on delivery (CoD) conversion rates. Since then, it has expanded its product to a full software suite encompassing all parts of the ecommerce funnel. 

The freshly raised funds will be used to work with large marketplaces, double the size of the product and tech teams.

GoKwik was founded during the pandemic and is a startup that works completely remotely. “Since we started operations fully remotely, we haven’t had the kind of troubles that others who have tried to shift to a fully remote mode have,” explained Chirag Taneja, in a conversation with Inc42.

“We have a decentralised workforce working from 41 different cities. We have three satellite offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and the leadership team spends one week in each office, ensuring that the company stays aligned with its goals. I believe overcommunication is essential when working and collaborating remotely with others,” continued Taneja, explaining how the startup manages its operations.

According to Inc42 Plus, India’s retail market is projected to reach $1.7 Tn by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% during 2021-2026, making the country the fifth-largest global destination for retail. Ecommerce is expected to capture 11.4% of this retail market and reach $200 Bn in 2026, driven by the rise in digital infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, online shoppers are projected to reach 350 Mn in the country by FY 2025, growing at a CAGR of 28.5% by 2025. In 2020, 67% of the online shoppers belonged to the 18-34 age group, with those aged between 25 and 34 being the most active online shoppers. 

Ashish Agrawal, Managing Director at Sequoia Capital India, said, “We are witnessing stunning growth in e-commerce in India, specifically in social commerce platforms and D2C brands, many of whom Sequoia Capital India has partnered with. The sector will do $50B of GMV this year. The GoKwik team has identified a brilliant wedge into this market to solve merchants’ pain points of cart conversions at checkout and high returns on COD. We believe that GoKwik will be an important enabler to the ecosystem, solving multiple needs of merchants over time.”

GoKwik competes with the likes of Cashfree, PayU, Instamojo and unicorn Razorpay in the ecommerce payment enabler category, but the CEO Chirag Taneja insists that they don’t directly compete with payment gateways.

“We don’t count any payment gateway as our competition. They are payment processing companies and we are an ecommerce enablement company that takes care of much more than payment, including discovery, selection, conversion and retention; helping our clients manage the entire sales cycle,” he said.