E-commerce company Amazon has led a $10m round for India-based gift card technology company QwikCilver Solutions, taking a stake sized at just under 15% in the process, the Times of India has reported.
The funding marked the first corporate venturing investment in India by Amazon, which was joined in the round by venture capital firms Helion Venture Partners and Accel Partners.
Founded in 2008 and seeded by Helion and Accel, QwikCilver provides gift card services for retail and corporate customers. It will use the funding to develop its mobile gift card technology, and is considering the launch of its own branded gift card.
Kumar Sudarsan, founder and director of QwikCilver explained to TOI: “The motivation to get Amazon on board was that they will be able to bring in best practices and global strategies to help us scale the sector to the next level.”