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Travelyaari raises $7 million from Gujarat Venture Finance, Bennett Coleman
Travelyaari, an online bus booking platform, will use the funds for product development and increase its service network
New Delhi: Mantis Technologies Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates online bus booking platform Travelyaari, on Wednesday said it has raised $7 million in Series B round led by media company Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd and existing investor Gujarat Venture Finance Ltd (GVFL).
It will use the fresh fund for product development and augment its service network.
Founded in 2007 by Aurvind Lama, Travelyaari was established as a platform that enables online bus ticketing processes. It last raised $3 million in March from GVFL.
In addition to its business to consumer bus ticketing service, the platform offers business-to-business solutions to nearly 2,000 bus operators through its Bus ERP product called BusCRS besides other services.
Travelyaari has also provided technology solutions for state transport corporations like Punjab Roadways. It is in talks with other state transport corporations for adoption of its technology solution.
“Our products and services have witnessed great adoption in the country, among travelers and bus service providers. We will be looking to utilise this fresh induction of capital to further strengthen our business to business and business to consumer offerings and to achieve greater business growth,” said Aurvind Lama, co-founder and chief executive officer, Mantis Technologies.
The company is also looking to build an ecosystem around road travel by including pickup and drop services, food, and lodging to its platform offerings in the near future.
“In Travelyaari’s unique approach, we saw the potential of changing the way bus tickets are bought and sold in India. In 2011, travel e-commerce had the biggest share in Indian e-commerce market due to an increase in air and train ticket sold online. We believe that bus tickets are no different and customers would like to buy them on-the-go as well. Another thing that really excited us as investors is its business model, which is collaborative and helps all stakeholders, be it bus operators, online travel agencies and agents, or customers. We believe that such a model has the potential to scale quickly, which is why we have chosen to invest in the company,” said Sankalp Bajpai, associate vice-president, GVFL.
Bennett Coleman publishes The Times of India and The Economic Times, which compete with HT Media Ltd dailies Hindustan Times and Mint.
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Business NewsCompaniesTravelyaari raises $7 million from Gujarat Venture Finance, Bennett Coleman
First Published:10 Aug 2016, 03:26 PM IST
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