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.
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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.