YouTube to shut down its video commerce app Simsim
Simsim will stop taking new orders after March 31 and its team will be integrated into YouTube.
YouTube on Thursday said it is shutting down Simsim, the video commerce app it bought in July 2021, as the Google-owned video-sharing site looks to focus on shopping features on its platform.
As reported by ET Prime, the company will work with creators to introduce more monetisation opportunities through an affiliate programme and more shopping features across long-form videos, Shorts, and live streams this year.
Further, Simsim will stop taking new orders after March 31 and its team will be integrated into YouTube.
Founded in July 2019 by Amit Bagaria, Kunal Suri, and Saurabh Vashishtha, Simsim helped small businesses transition to ecommerce through influencer-based videos in Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali. Among its backers were Shunwei Capital and Accel.
Simsim posted a loss of Rs 157.25 crore on revenue of Rs 18.21 crore in FY22, according to an Entrackr report.
In another development, Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki stepped down after nine years at the helm. Replacing Wojcicki is Indian-American Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer at YouTube.
Mohan joined Google, YouTube's parent company, with the DoubleClick acquisition in 2007. He became YouTube's Chief Product Officer in 2015.
He will join a growing list of Indian-origin CEOs at the helm of US-based global giants, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Indra Nooyi had served as PepsiCo's CEO for 12 years before stepping down in 2018.
Edited by Suman Singh