How MakeMyTrip’s bet on data paid off

The US listed OTA has a team of over 100 people working on data cleansing and development of data-led features across business domains on the MMT platform.

Friday April 08, 2022 , 3 min Read

Hello Readers,

NASDAQ-listed Online Travel Aggregator (OTA) MakeMyTrip (MMT) set up its data team across Bengaluru and Gurugram nearly six years ago – way before the COVID-19 pandemic added more chaos to the travel industry.

Divided into the data platform team and data sciences team, the larger data team is headed by Sanjay Mohan, Group CTO at MMT.

While the data platform team is responsible for building the data pipeline – right from how the data is logged to the storage of quality data in accessible form, data sciences, with expertise in Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve use-case-specific business domain problems.

“Compared to other ecommerce services, travel requires context, it is a less frequent purchase and is a perishable inventory. Pricing is dynamic in this case and it is different from what a user might be looking for. That is why data science around travel is an interesting problem to solve,” Sanjay tells YourStory.

This foresight has helped the platform better manage the disruption caused by the pandemic and quickly roll out features in line with new travel protocols. Read more.

The Interview

Sakshi Shivdasani is a content creator and has explored many interesting ideas. She has been winning hearts with her fresh sense of style and witty jokes.

On this episode of #InfluencersInc, Sakshi talks about her journey as a content creator and what lies ahead for the future.

Editor’s Pick: App Friday

This week for App Friday, we take a look at AstroTalk, which offers astrology consultations. Whether you’re a believer, a sceptic, or an all-out ‘nullifidian’, it’s a fun pastime.

The app has 50 lakh+ installs on the Google Play Store, and a 5/5 star rating. On the Apple App Store, it has a 4.6/5 star rating. Worth noting here that AstroTalk ranks number 10 on Apple App Store’s ‘lifestyle’ list in India. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Brewing an idea

YourStory UNCUT is a series of interviews where entrepreneurs reveal the biggest challenges and failures they have faced in their journey so far.

Bhupinder Madaan launched Theka Coffee as a freshly brewed 100 percent Arabic coffee served in a beer bottle and priced at Rs 100. However, he overlooked high capital and operational expenditure associated with opening cafes on high streets.

Find out how he overcame the challenges.

News & Updates

According to reports, Flipkart plans to list in the US public markets by 2023 at a valuation of $60-$70 billion. It is reportedly eyeing a $45-$50 billion IPO as early as 2021.

Unacademy has reportedly laid off around 1,000 employees. However, the company told YourStory that less than 600 employees, contractual workers and educators have been laid off. It looks to cut costs amid an impending slowdown in venture funding and a tightening economy.

Edtech major upGrad has confirmed that it has integrated all of Talentedge’s business with itself. Talentedge will continue to operate under its own name as its owner Sekhsaria Family Office has taken a stake in upGrad.

A new study by Gemini has shown that India was leading in the number of first time crypto investors in 2021. Nearly 54 percent of all traders in India last year were purchasing crypto currencies for the first time in their lives.