Travel startup Itilite raises capital from Matrix Partners

Bengaluru-based B2B travel-tech startup Itilite Technologies Pvt. Ltd has raised an undisclosed amount from US-based private equity investment firm Matrix Partners.

A clutch of angel investors also participated in the funding round.

The company, which was incorporated this year by former McKinsey and Myntra executives Mayank Kukreja and Anish Khadiya, is going to use the money to strengthen its technology platform and expand its team.

A software-as-a-services provider, it offers end-to-end corporate travel management solutions and helps employees save through reward points. Itilite is targeting the $30-billion corporate travel market in India.

“We are partnering with Matrix to fill the huge gap in the business travel market. Our state-of-the-art technology coupled with behavioural science helps align the incentives of the company and the traveller, who are adopting technology wholeheartedly for a better travel experience,” said Kukreja.

Itilite claims to make the booking process smarter and seamless by learning from consumer preferences and providing personalised travel options. “Our customers are already benefitting from our data platform. We will help industries remove inefficiencies, simplify processes and enhance visibility into travel spends.”

The Indian arm of Matrix Partners, which has assets worth Rs 4,500-crore under management, has backed several companies, including Ola, Quikr, Practo, Dailyhunt, Mswipe, Five Star Finance, Treebo, Limeroad, Razorpay and Belong.

This year, the travel segment has seen some interest from investors.

In June, Singapore- and Mumbai-based Goomo Holdings Services India Pvt. Ltd, which operates online travel and holiday booking platform Goomo, had raised $50 million (Rs 321.6 crore) from Mauritius-based private equity firm Emerging India.

April saw South-African media conglomerate Naspers-owned MIH Group acquiring a majority stake in Gurgaon-based travel company Tek Travels, which runs B2B travel portal Travel Boutique Online.

In February, travel-tech startup Wandertrails had raised $1 mn in seed funding from Earlsfield Capital, a UK-based venture capital firm of entrepreneurs-turned-investors.