Itilite Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a software-as-a-service company focussed on business travel, has raised $13 million (Rs 99.45 crore at current exchange rates) in a Series B funding round.
New investor California-based Greenoaks Capital and existing backer Dubai-based Vy Capital led the round, Itilite said in a statement. Other returning investors including Matrix Partners India also put in money.
Bengaluru-based Itilite says its artificial intelligence-backed platform helps customers in managing their business travel process. It claims its service suite reduces the time taken with the booking experience while helping companies save up to 30% of their travel budget.
The company will use the capital it has raised to focus on its international expansion efforts and product innovation. “Consistently delivering a great experience to travellers and seamless process efficiency to companies has helped us become the business travel platform of choice,” chief executive officer Mayank Kukreja said.
Matrix India director Gourav Bhattacharya said the firm was confident about its latest commitment to Itilite because of the startup’s focus on its product and the opportunity in optimising travel costs for the business segment.
The company was founded in 2017 by Kukreja and chief business officer Anish Khadiya. Kukreja is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad while Khadiya is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Lucknow. Prior to Itilite, both of them worked at consulting firm McKinsey and fashion e-tailer Myntra.
Itilite had raised Rs 30 crore in a Series A funding round in January last year from Matrix and others including Helion Ventures founder Ashish Gupta. Prior that, it raised an undisclosed sum from Matrix and other angel investors in November 2017.
Deals in the SaaS space
The Series B bet on Itilite extends the positive run for startups functioning on a SaaS-based model. Companies in the space are using their stacks to address gaps within traditional ecosystems and introduce new products and services.
Earlier this month, Aavenir Software Pvt. Ltd, a source-to-pay solutions provider raised around Rs 15.22 crore in a seed funding round from Accel India. The startup offers contract lifecycle management and procurement management solutions.
Business-to-business e-commerce startup Udaan in February invested around Rs 14 crore in restaurant management platform PetPooja. The same month, fleet management and analytics startup raised about Rs 20 crore in a Series A round led by the Singapore-based Beenext Opportunity Fund.