SAIF Partners Invests $1 Mn In Mobile Shopping Assistant

Voodoo, a mobile only shopping assistant has raised $1 Mn in Seed funding led by SAIF Partners.

The funding will be used to build a unique, mobile-first global shopping experience.

Founded by Mohit Mittal and Vijay Reddy, Voodoo enables its users to identify the cheapest options across a range of products and services, such as choosing products from an ecommerce website and using services like booking a cab. The app, currently, is operational through apps like Paytm, Jabong, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Shopclues, eBay, Myntra, Homeshop18, Indiatimes, Freecharge, Uber, TaxiForSure, Ola, Foodpanda, Zomato Order,Bookmyshow, Goibibo and others.

The funding will aid the Delhi-based startup in hiring as well. Mittal said “We will be hiring a lot of people in technology to build the product, and we are setting up a team to rapidly prototype more features.”

With so many ecommerce platforms moving to an app based model and offering regular deals day after day, comparing prices and features on the mobile phone has become a bulky exercise. Multiple apps can’t be viewed at the same time, hence, it becomes inconvenient for customers to check several apps and services for the best deal on the table. Voodoo is aiming to solve this problem by showing a potential buyer the best prices or results within one app.

For example, if a buyer is on the Flipkart app, looking for a laptop, Voodoo shows him/her prices on the same screen from other apps such as Amazon and Snapdeal.

“There are so many mobile apps in every category and all of them have something amazing to offer. Voodoo picks the best stuff from all of them and serves our consumers with the finest recommendations”, said Mittal.

Voodoo is still working on a monetization plan. Currently, it takes a small cut of transactions through ecommerce companies affiliate networks.

Voodoo might eventually face competition from Google Now On Tap once it launches in India. Now, On Tap is a digital assistant for Android that shows relevant information when one taps on a keyword in almost any screen. However, Mittal says that Voodoo is different as it focuses on specific verticals such as shopping, which implies that it is able to give users more detailed information to save time.

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