Gabriel News
Gabriel Venture Partners expands India-based portfolio with investment in MakeMyTrip
India's leading travel company to leverage investment by capitalizing on soaring Indian domestic travel market while consolidating its leadership position in the US-India travel market
Redwood Shores – March 7, 2006 – Gabriel Venture Partners, a venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley and India, has continued expanding its India-based portfolio by investing in MakeMyTrip (MMT), India’s leading Internet travel company. Gabriel’s investment in MakeMyTrip is the sixth in its growing India portfolio, which already includes investments in Allsec (IPO on BSE), IL&FS Investsmart (IPO on BSE), Provogue (IPO on BSE), Persistent Systems, and Tejas Networks. Gabriel started investing in India in 2000 with its investment in SPG Infinity Ventures, India’s premiere seed stage IT venture fund.
MMT strategy is to capitalize on the fast-growing Indian travel market (both domestic and outbound travel from India) while consolidating its leadership position in the lucrative $2B US to India travel market. As the leading Internet travel company in India, MMT has an enormous opportunity to maximize growth in a diversified chain of travel segments including Air, Hotel, Tours, Car Rentals, Customized Packages and Vacation Packages. In addition, corporate travel (for US-based Indian corporations with frequent travel requirements to India) represents a significant segment of the market that MMT is poised to capture.
Deep Kalra, CEO of MakeMyTrip.com, said that “MakeMyTrip has been able to capture a fair share of the $2B US to India travel market, and now we are turning our sights towards the Indian domestic market, as that is showing the most growth opportunity. With our extensive relationships, experience, and dedication to the highest level of customer service, users will clearly see and feel the difference between conventional travel agents and MMT. We are delighted to be working closely with Navin Chaddha at Gabriel Venture Partners.”
The Indian outbound and domestic travel markets are witnessing unprecedented growth and represent a market of $16B. Coupled with this growth, India has almost 40M Internet users – a number that will grow at 78% per year to reach 120M by 2008 according to IDC. With mobile phones, Internet penetration and credit cards growing exponentially over the past three years, the market for online travel bookings in India has taken off. In 2004, $217M worth of travel services was purchased online. As travel buying increasingly moves online, this market is set to grow exponentially, with conservative estimates sizing the Internet travel market at $10B by 2010 in India.
Outlining Gabriel’s rationale for investment in MakeMyTrip.com, Navin Chaddha; General Partner at Gabriel Venture Partners explained: “It’s clear that the Indian Internet travel market is growing exponentially year on year and MakeMyTrip is the clear leader in the space. We like investing in companies that have potential for market leadership and are there to assist entrepreneurs at every stage of company’s growth. We are extremely excited to be part of MakeMyTrip.”
About MakeMyTrip
MakeMyTrip.com (MMT) is the leading online travel booking portal with a focus on India. MMT is the largest retailer of travel services online for individuals and corporations for both Indian domestic and international travel markets. The company has simplified the planning and buying process through its site by offering real-time services that were previously not available for travel in India. The company currently has 145 employees based in New Delhi, New York and Sydney. SAIF is the current investor in the company
About Gabriel Venture Partners
Gabriel Venture Partners is a hands-on, cross-border venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley and India, managing over $260 Million. Gabriel’s investment team consists of seasoned technology entrepreneurs and industry executives, each with international operating experience and strong domain expertise. Gabriel’s unique cross-border capabilities across the US, India, and Asia-Pacific greatly enhances the effectiveness of companies in need of resources and customers within these regions. Gabriel actively partners with entrepreneurs to build the market leaders of tomorrow in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Representative investments include Placeware (acquired by Microsoft), NetScaler (acquired by Citrix), and Iridigm (acquired by Qualcomm), as well as direct India investment including Allsec (IPO on BSE), IL&FS Investsmart (IPO on BSE), Provogue (IPO on BSE), Persistent Systems and Tejas Networks. For more information, please visit: http://www.GabrielVP.com.
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