Travelyaari raises $7mn in Series B funding led by GVFL and Times Group

Online bus booking platform Travelyaari, owned by Mantis Technologies, has raised $7 million in its Series B round. The round was led by existing investor Gujarat Venture Finance Limited (GVFL), Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, (BCCL) and other investors.

The funds raised will be used for product development, business growth, augmenting its service network, and increasing online penetration of bus bookings.

Founded in 2007, Travelyaari provides real-time, cancellation-proof bookings with timely confirmations and assured refunds. More than 5,000 road travel service providers will be integrated with the platform, along with more channel partners and agents. Travelyaari will target the middle-class segment across India. 

Travelyaari, present in more than 8,000 outlets across India, has helped many small providers achieve computerisation and streamline their operations; at present, the platform has 55 percent of the overall service provider base on the Mantis system in India, doing business worth $450 million per annum.

Travelyaari has also provided technology solutions for state transport corporations like PUNBUS/ Punjab Roadways and PRTC. It is in talks with other state transport corporations for adoption of its technology solutions.

So far, the company has raised about Rs 20 crore.

“Our investors unanimously believed in our potential to build a robust, digitalised bus ticketing business model, and the scalability, sustainability, and profitability of the platform have convinced them to fund our vision,” said Aurvind Lama, Founder of Travelyaari.

Speaking to YourStory, Aurvind said that he believes mobile will be a key driver for growth in the near future and the focus will now be on building a full-fledged mobile platform that will serve B2B partners along with the end customers.

He added that with the raised funds the platform will now introduce more intelligent features and will also become more collaborative, providing consumers with an end-to-end experience. For instance, the platform will allow customers to book pick and drop services or book rooms, among other things.

The company, which has attained a GMV of about Rs350 crore in FY'15, is currently processing half a billion transactions per annum and aims to complete transactions worth $2 billion in the next three years.

Market scenario

The travel market space is dominated by NASDAQ-listed MakeMyTrip, Helion-backed Redbus, AbhiBus, and e-commerce marketplaces like Paytm and Snapdeal which recently forayed into the segment. However, Travelyaari has a larger offering base with a presence both in B2B and B2C markets, differentiating its business model from others. 

Southeast Asia’s online travel spend is expected to reach $76 billion by 2025. The region’s consumers will spend $200 billion online by 2025 and online travel spend will account for about 38 percent, according to a report by Google and Singapore-based investment company Temasek Holdings.