Navan, formerly known as TripActions, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed US-based travel tech platform, has acquired Bengaluru-based corporate travel management start-up Tripeur to enter India’s $35bn travel market. Tripeur offers business travel management services and is backed by investors such as Pentathlon Ventures and Incubate Fund. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Tripeur will enable Navan to localise its technology to serve its growing list of enterprise customers. The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has picked up pace on the back of leisure and work travel since the COVID-19-induced lockdowns opened up and the country returned to business as usual. Corporate travel in India is expected to rise by 67% in 2023, and the travel market in India is projected to reach $125bn by FY27 from an estimated $75bn in FY20, as per the World Travel & Tourism Council.
MakeMyTrip, another travel tech startup in India, reported a profit of $0.2 Mn in the third quarter of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), compared to a loss of $9 Mn in the corresponding quarter last year. RateGain, another travel tech startup, posted a 147x YoY jump in its net profit to INR 13.3 Cr in the December 2022 quarter. According to a report by Financial Express, corporate travel in India is expected to rise by 67% in 2023, and 77% of businesses are planning to increase their budget for business travel in 2023. The growth in the Indian travel market is driven by the opening up of the country after COVID-19-induced lockdowns and the increasing demand for high-quality corporate travel solutions.