Online travel agency giant MakeMyTrip has dipped into the coffers of its Innovation Fund to buy fellow Indian travel brand MyGola.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MakeMyTrip says it has purchased "certain assets" of MyGola, hinting that entire team is joining the company as part of a acqui-hire.
It is understood that the MyGola service, a mobile travel planning service where users are able to browse existing trip itineraries or create their own and book online, will continue in some form.
The company was formed five years ago by former-Google employee Anshuman Bapna and Prateek Sharma.
A number of small tranches of investment were made over the course of its early phases, including $1 million from Silicon Valley luminaries such as Dave McClure in 2011 and another $1.5 million in 2013, led by Helion Venture Partners.
MyGola shifted some three times from its original vision, most importantly to a visual trip planning service in May 2013, leading it to capture some 500,000 visits a month.
Bapna says:
"Arguably, travel planning is one of the top worst ideas entrepreneurs can think of. In our quest to crack that impossible nut, we changed (ahem, "pivoted") our product 3x before finally getting it right."
Speaking of his boss, he adds:
"I've known Deep [Kalra] from before starting the company and it's been incredible to see how he, Rajesh and the team has built this behemoth on a bedrock of sound management practices, aggressive strategies and strong cultural cohesion."
The OTA launched its $15 million fund in September 2014.