Business travel startup Itilite raises $13M to accelerate international expansion

India-based digital travel management company Itilite has raised a Series B round of $13 million led by Greenoaks Capital and Vy Capital, with participation from Matrix Partners India and other existing investors.

Founded in 2017, the company currently has 200 mid- and large-size enterprise clients, primarily in India but also in the United States and Southeast Asia. 

Co-founder and CEO Mayank Kukreja says despite a recent drop in revenue due to the coronavirus, both he and the company’s investors are optimistic about the future.

“They [investors] are making a long-term bet. They believe there is a huge opportunity, and what we are doing makes sense,” he says.

Itilite provides an artificial intelligence-powered platform that it says offers a 90-second booking experience and enables companies to reward employees for choosing cost-saving options for hotels, flights, etc.

Clients include Jockey, RPG Group, Toshiba JSW, Ola, Swiggy and Capillary Technologies, and Kukreja says in the last few weeks it has seen an increase in new client inquiries.

“These are customers who don’t have managed travel. They are either working with offline travel agents or letting employees book anywhere and get reimbursed. Now these companies are saying, 'I want to control where my people go, I want to have visibility where they are at all points,'” he says.

“They want to bring in more technology, so as things start we may have double the customers in the next six months.”

In recent weeks the company has introduced new safety-focused features such as identifying hotels that follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization as “COVID Safe.” In addition to continuing to update the product, Kukreja says they will use the funding to accelerate expansion outside of India. 

“Optimizing travel for cost and experience is a priority for every business on the planet, and the growth Itilite has achieved by delivering this in such a short time is impressive,” says Gourav Bhattacharya, director at Matrix India.

“Now, armed with fresh capital, a world‐class product and a highly accomplished team behind it, we are confident that Itilite is well positioned to emerge as a global leader in business travel and expense management.”

Itilite’s total funding to date is now $18 million.