Intel Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in start-up ELike, the Brazilian developer behind online virtual retailer My Shopping, making it the third such investment in Brazil’s online fashion sector by Intel’s investment arm.
Intel previously invested undisclosed amounts in two Brazilian fashion e-commerce sites, Coquelux and Fasion.me, in February this year. The company has stated that it has invested $75m in 25 Brazilian companies since 1999.
Elike plans to use the investment to expand the brands it works with through its virtual shopping channels.
Elike attracted an undisclosed investment in Angel funding during January of this year. Angel investor Arnon de Mello and Seth Zalkin participated in the round, and were joined by venture firm Astor Capital, where both Zalkin and de Mello are managing partners. Zalkin previously become a director at ELike in October 2011.
“Intel Capital drew our attention as it is a fund aimed exclusively at technological innovation with broad expertise in the Brazilian market”, said ELike CEO Tatiana Albuquerque in a statement. “As a portfolio company of Intel Capital, we stand to benefit from the extensive global network of Intel Capital while also relying on specialized support in innovation for electronic commerce platforms.”
Intel Capital general director for Latin America David Thomas also commented, “We are observing a significant conversion of social platforms from the consumer point of view, and My Shopping offers an interesting model, quite innovative and unlike anything else we have seen around the world.”
He added: “The My Shopping model uses market intelligence and social components to maximize brand results inside virtual shopping, an important advantage for the company’s partners.”
Founded in 2011, Elike launched My Shopping in July of that year. It has since expanded its user base to 70,000. My Shopping operates a Facebook-driven virtual shopping centre where retailers can create virtual stores and monetise their social channels.