Social commerce platform Voila raises 6 million dollars in funding

AI-driven social commerce platform Voilà has raised 6 million dollars in funding as it looks to expand its team.

The Series A round was led by Sinovation Ventures and joined by Fosun RZ Capital, Artesian, and SOSV.

Founded by Ke Shang in 2019, Voilà helps creators on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to create custom storefronts with products from brands and retailers.

Creators share their storefronts using the link-in-bio on their social media platforms and collect affiliate revenue for products sold. Voilà is free to creators.

The LA-based business currently works with more than 16,000 brands and retailers, and has a creator community of 15,000 people, whose storefronts combined attract 3.2 million unique visitors each month.

Founder Shang said the fresh funding will help to expand its engineering team as well as its marketing team in LA. Voilà currently has 40 employees based mainly in LA and Beijing.

The company said its top priority is to recruit a CMO “who has extensive influencer marketing experience”.

“For too long, most online creators and influencers have received very little revenue for their highly creative work as tastemakers and entertainers,” Shang said in a release.

He continued: “Our platform makes it super simple for a creator to set up a storefront, add relevant products, and generate affiliate revenue. Our powerful AI-backed engine helps pick the products and ensures they are still in stock.

“Our aim is to make sure every post delivers the best possible return for both creators and brands. The future of commerce is social, and Voilà will ensure that small brands and micro-influencers get their fair share of attention and revenue.”