Amazon has ventured into the social commerce arena with its acquisition of the social commerce startup GlowRoad. The startup, which is backed by venture capital fund Accel and Vertex Ventures, among others, was reportedly bought at a valuation of $75 million. The acquisition is likely to take on popular platforms such as Meesho and Shopsy.

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“Amazon continues to explore new ways to digitise India and delight customers, micro-entrepreneurs and sellers and bringing GlowRoad onboard is a key step in this direction. Together with GlowRoad, Amazon will help accelerate entrepreneurship among millions of creators, homemakers, students, and small sellers from across the country…,” Amazon has said about the acquisition.

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GlowRoad has 170 employees who, after the acquisition, will join Amazon. GlowRoad will continue to function as an independent entity for a while.

GlowRoad was co-founded by Sinha, Sonal Verma, Shekhar Sahu, Nitesh Pant and Nilesh Padariya in 2017. According to data platform Tracxn, the startup has raised a funding of around $31 million since its inception. Last year, the company raised $7 million from existing investors Accel and Vertex. Prior to that, China's CDH had funded $10 million.

GlowRoad lends its focus to tier II and tier III markets. The resellers associated with the platform are typically housewives, temporary workers, or even students. According to the company's website, a reseller can earn a sum of around Rs 20,000 a month by reselling 100 products.

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