Fundamentum-backed Wishlink is in talks to raise ₹20–25 million from existing and new investors, two people familiar with the matter told Mint.
The discussions come as investor interest returns to content-led commerce platforms after several early bets failed or exited, and as large e-commerce players begin to report meaningful revenue from creator-driven discovery.
“The company has grown fast and is expecting new investors to join the round,” said one of the people quoted above with direct knowledge of the development, adding that it is likely to close soon.
Queries sent to Wishlink did not elicit a response at the time of publishing.
Wishlink is not alone. Last year, LehLah raised a $1.5 million seed round from Nikhil Kamath’s fund Gruhas. Other platforms, such as Hypd, have also been growing in the segment following their initial seed rounds.
This renewed interest follows the collapse or consolidation of an earlier cohort of social commerce startups, such as Trell, Bulbul, and SimSim, which have been inactive or acquired by larger firms, including the Good Glamm Group and YouTube.
Collectively, these companies, which were founded between 2016 and 2018, raised over $100 million in early-stage funding but failed to scale.
“If you look back eight to ten years, the problem in commerce was supply,” said Ashish Kumar, co-founder and general partner at Fundamentum, an early backer of Wishlink. “That problem is now solved.”
Indian e-commerce, Kumar said, has moved from scarcity to overload. “Today, the problem is curation. There is too much supply. Most of the time, consumers want help figuring out what they want.”
Unlike the first wave of social commerce startups that attempted to build full-stack shopping apps by owning discovery, checkout and logistics, newer platforms are focusing on creator-commerce infrastructure.
Shift to infrastructure
They serve as intermediaries between creators, brands, and marketplaces, allowing influencers to tag products, create affiliate links, and track conversions, and to direct transactions to platforms like Myntra, Amazon, or brand websites with existing fulfilment.
The timing is also working in their favour, founders argue.
“Influencing is now mainstream,” Ashna Ruia, co-founder of LehLah, said. “We’re riding that wave.”
Founded in December 2022, LehLah works with marketplaces such as Myntra, Meesho, Nykaa, and Ajio, as well as electronics and D2C brands, including Samsung and several FMCG labels.
Short-form video platforms such as Instagram and YouTube have trained consumers to discover products through creator content, while improved digital payments, logistics networks and the rise of D2C brands have reduced friction in online buying.
At the same time, brands facing rising digital advertising costs are shifting budgets towards performance-linked influencer commerce.
Large e-commerce players say this shift is now translating into measurable business outcomes.
“Fashion discovery today is shaped as much by inspiration as it is by intent,” said Sunder Balasubramanian, chief marketing officer at Myntra. “Engagement with social commerce content has translated into a 10% higher conversion on the platform. What began as a marketing lever has now evolved into a meaningful business driver…”
Creator-led commerce contributes over 10% of Myntra’s platform revenue, the company said. Myntra launched its Studio platform in 2020.
Investors backing newer platforms say unit economics are the clearest point of departure from earlier models.
“Wishlink’s customer acquisition cost is practically zero because traffic comes from Instagram and YouTube,” Kumar said. “From an ROI perspective, content commerce is more efficient.”
Traditional marketplaces, he added, require heavy capital to drive growth, while content commerce platforms benefit from distribution already built by creators.
India’s social commerce market touched $29.27 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a 37.5% compound annual rate to nearly $144 billion by 2030, driven by the rapid spread of digital payments, creator-led buying behaviour and mobile-first product discovery, according to market research and intelligence firm Mordor Intelligence.
The right mix
Founded in January 2022 by IIT Delhi alumni Shaurya Gupta, Chandan Yadav, and Divyansh Ameta, Wishlink has raised about $10.1 million so far from investors including Elevation Capital, Trifecta Capital, Wellfound, and more than 70 angel backers.
LehLah’s Ruia said that the platform has also seen steady traction, though the company is young.
“We’ve grown about five times in revenue over the last year,” said Ruia. “Our brand portfolio has expanded significantly.”
Most platforms, however, remain small. The real test will be whether they can scale without losing efficiency—and whether investor interest holds beyond the current round.
Founders and investors say earlier attempts ran into structural mismatches between content and commerce.
“With content commerce, people come for entertainment or knowledge,” Kumar said. “When you layer commerce on top, traditional conversion metrics don’t work.”
Execution compounded the problem. Content and commerce demand very different operating strengths, and few teams managed both well.
As platforms scale, quality becomes the biggest constraint.
“India has no shortage of brands or creators,” Ruia said. “The main risk is quality.”
“Scaling with the right brands and the right creators, without compromising experience, is the key challenge,” she added.
Key Takeaways
- Wishlink is seeking up to ₹25 million in funding in the social commerce space.
- New startups are avoiding logistics and fulfilment, acting instead as a tech/affiliate layer for existing giants like Amazon and Myntra.
- Social commerce accounts for 10% of Myntra’s total revenue and offers 10% higher conversion rates.
- By leveraging influencer audiences on Instagram and YouTube, startups are achieving near-zero customer acquisition costs.
- The industry has moved from a supply problem to a discovery problem, where influencers act as the necessary filter for overwhelmed consumers.
