Tag: Aloke Bajpai

Ixigo: How It Made Travelling Easy!

People who wanted to travel to a different city earlier had to go through a rigorous and cumbersome process of ticket booking and sorting out accommodations through offline mediums. What the country really needed was a portal that could shorten the worries of travelers through innovative travel planning products. This was when Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar founded Ixigo in 2007.

Ixigo, through its website and numerous mobile apps, wipes out the need for tourists to go through loads of information plus online travel contracts and facilitates curating a travel plan for satisfying and enjoyable experiences. It basically aggregates and then compares variants like real-time travel information in terms of prices and the availability of flights, trains, buses, cabs, hotels, packages, and destinations.

With Ixigo travel solutions, railway bookings, flight bookings, and the bookings of bus tickets, hotels, and more have been a cakewalk.

Read more about the Ixigo Founders and Team, it’s Story, History, Business Model, Revenue Model, Funding, Growth, etc in the article ahead.

Ixigo Company Details

STARTUP NAME	IXIGO
Headquarters	Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Sector	Travel
Founder	Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar
Founded	2007
Website	ixigo.com

Ixigo – About
Ixigo – How it Works?
Ixigo – Founders and Team
Ixigo – Startup Story
Ixigo – Mission and Vision
Ixigo – Name and Logo
Ixigo – Services
Ixigo – Products and Features
Ixigo – Business Model
Ixigo – Revenue Model
Ixigo – Challenges Faced
Ixigo – Funding and Investors
Ixigo – Shareholding
Ixigo – Investments
Ixigo – Acquisitions
Ixigo – Growth
Ixigo – Financials
Ixigo – Partnerships
Ixigo – Sponsorship
Ixigo – Marketing Campaign
Ixigo – Awards and Achievements
Ixigo – Competitors
Ixigo – Future Plans

Ixigo – About

Ixigo is India’s leading online plus mobile travel search plus planning website. A one-stop solution for travelers, it aggregates as well as compares the finest deals on hotels, flights, buses, trains, plus packages, and reviews the best travel facts from around 100+ travel websites to extend the most reliable travel information for the users.

Ixigo – How it Works?

Ixigo company stands out as a premier travel platform, boasting a stellar 4.6-star rating from the Google Play Store. It, a well-known exploration app with an easy-to-use UI and objective findings, has had two sister apps before. While the other helped consumers find relevant apps and discounts across e-commerce, hyperlocal services, online travel, and food delivery through advertisers, the former enabled contextual brand outreach to train passengers.

Notably, users could easily schedule interstate ride-sharing through BlaBlaCar with the Ixigo Trains app. This was especially helpful when there were limited train options or waitlists for tickets. Using this diverse strategy as a foundation, Ixigo has combined all of its services into one main app.

Ixigo – Founders and Team

Rajnish Kumar and Aloke Bajpai are the Co-Founders of Ixigo.

Aloke Bajpai

Aloke Bajpai is the Group CEO, Managing Director, and Co-Founder of Ixigo. An IIT Kanpur BTech Electrical Engineering alumnus, Aloke Bajpai, obtained an MBA, General Management from INSEAD and then an MBA, Exchange from The Wharton School. Bajpai started his career as a Software Engineer at Amadeus SAS, who was eventually promoted to the post of Sr Systems and Network Engineer.

He then served as the Vice President at Final Quadrant Solutions before launching Ixigo in 2007. He is also serving as the Director in Freshbus and Director in Confirmtkt.

Rajnish Kumar

Rajnish Kumar is known as the Group CPTO & Co-Founder of Ixigo. Like Aloke, Rajnish is also an IIT Kanpur alumnus from the Computer Science & Engineering department. He also interned at ETH Zurich in Data Modelling/Warehousing and Database Administration.

Rajnish also worked at Amadeus SAS as a Software Engineer and was then promoted to Sr. Software Engineer and Technical Lead. He then joined as a Director of Development at Isango! Kumar finally decided to found Travenues or Ixigo in 2006.

Ixigo was last reported to have close to 51-200 employees as per LinkedIn.

Ixigo – Startup Story

The entrepreneurial bug was always there inside the IIT Kanpur wingmates-cum-colleagues, Aloke and Rajnish. However, they were somewhere trapped in the 35-hour per week work rule at the French corporate Amadeus. To disentangle themselves from the clutches of the work life, both of them decided to leave their high-paying jobs in Europe and returned to India in 2006, fully geared up to follow their dreams. They rented a studio apartment in Gurgaon and set up their workplace.

In the initial phase, the Ixigo founders didn’t have a clue of what they were going to do with the entrepreneurial itch that they nurtured, but soon they found out how painful was making travel bookings for several destinations in India was. This gave them the impetus to start up with a travel meta search website for flights in India in 2007. For a year, they worked with no salaries. Over their persistence, ixigo was born.

The only passion behind the company was the vision to build a product to help Indian travelers search and compare hotel information at the same place online and make their lives relatively easier. It was launched in a nascent online travel segment that has since thrived to become one of India’s most viable companies.

Ixigo – Mission and Vision

“At ixigo, corporate social responsibility lies at the center of our vision and mission”, says the ixigo website.

The Gurgaon-based traveltech startup mainly focuses on empowering the Indian travelers to plan, book and manage their trips effortlessly whether it is the railways, airways, roadways or hotel stays.

Ixigo – Name and Logo

Ixigo Logo

Ixigo – Services

Ixigo Flight Booking Services enables the users to easily book, and monitor flights through the Ixigo app or its website.

Ixigo Flight Booking Services - Ixigo App — Ixigo Flight Booking Services – Ixigo App

Ixigo has already acquired Confirmtkt, and with this app and its inherent app, Ixigo enables fast, easy, and guaranteed booking of train tickets.

Ixigo Train Booking Services - Ixigo App — Ixigo Train Booking Services – Ixigo App

Ixigo helps the users book buses in an instant via its bus booking services, which is now available on its app itself.

Ixigo Bus Booking Services - Ixigo App — Ixigo Bus Booking Services – Ixigo App

For Ixigo Hotel Bookings, Ixigo has partnered with Booking.com. Though Ixigo doesn’t directly handle the hotel bookings, it facilitates easy and affordable booking of hotels via its partner Booking.com, where the users are redirected as soon as they click on Ixigo Hotels option.

Ixigo Hotels Booking Services – Ixigo App

Ixigo – Products and Features

Ixigo has various products and features. Some of the prominent products and features are:

PLAN

On July 10, 2023, Ixigo unveiled PLAN, an intelligent travel planner powered by OpenAI, a startup that conducts AI research and deployment. Through the utilization of OpenAI’s ChatGPT API, the platform is able to effectively process and comprehend customer preferences, providing them with customized suggestions, itineraries, and recommendations. Additionally, Ixigo is now the only travel agency in India to offer the Ixigo ChatGPT plugin.

bhAI

On April 1, 2023, the travel app introduced bhAI, a new AI-powered headset. This “first-of-its-kind” Bluetooth headset with AI, according to the manufacturer, is intended to help travelers.

Ixigo – Business Model

Ixigo’s business model is compatible with an airport’s requirements since it allows an unbiased comparison of all the available choices, aiding the travelers in deciding which website they should book through, rather than hanging midway in the deal. It mainly serves as an intermediary between the user and a travel booking website and earns commission on each booking.

Besides, the innovative features, for example, the 180-day fare viewpoint, direct booking of airline tickets through the website, and the feature-rich hotel exploration mechanism make this portal tremendously user-friendly. Ixigo’s meta-search business model associates travel contracts from 100+ travel sites and have aided millions of explorers to save time and money on their trip.

In April 2016, it also launched a meta-search application for cabs, which was initiated to generate revenue for the company. As an extension to revenue generation, the company also has an in-app booking alternative that permits the users to book on their website itself using a third-party power-driven app.

Ixigo – Revenue Model

Ixigo makes revenue from different resources; some of the prominent ones are:

Reservation Fees: By charging customers for the reservation of different transport services, such as bus, train, and airline tickets, Ixigo makes money.
Revenue from Rail Tickets: Ixigo offers consumers a convenient platform for making rail travel reservations, with a substantial percentage of its revenue coming from fees associated with reserving train tickets.
Revenue from Airline Tickets: By charging customers a fee to buy airline tickets, the platform meets the varied travel demands of its user base and generates revenue.
Revenue from Advertising: Through partnerships with advertisers, Ixigo expands its revenue stream by showcasing bargains and pertinent material to its user base.

Ixigo – Challenges Faced

Ixigo faced a number of obstacles with its user engagement approach, especially with regard to concentrating on the instant activity that happens after downloading an app. The business noticed a drop in user activity at this critical juncture and set out to redesign the onboarding process to guarantee both a strong initial impression for new users and long-term retention.

Ixigo also attempted to employ technology to evaluate the influence of complex design and personalization on email and push notification conversions, realizing that a careful balance was necessary to properly increase user engagement.

The decline in first-time consumers’ repeat transactions was another major obstacle for Ixigo. The difficulty was figuring out how to enhance the initial experience before, during, and after the booking process, since this was crucial in getting customers to do additional transactions.

In order to overcome the obstacles encountered and guarantee a smooth, user-centered experience, Ixigo had to proactively manage these digital touchpoints in the world of online contacts, where emails functioned as the starting point for user conversations and conversions.

Ixigo – Funding and Investors

Ixigo has raised a total of $72 million in funding over 7 rounds. The last round that Ixigo had seen came on October 20, 2021.

Here is a list of all the funding to date:

Date	Stage	Amount	Investors
October 20, 2021	Debt Financing	–	Trifecta Capital Advisors
July 27, 2021	Series C	$53 million	GIC
March 22, 2017	Series B	$15 million	Sequoia Capital India, Fosun RZ Capital
November 29, 2016	Venture Round	$10 million	Sequoia Capital India
June 23, 2015	Funding Round	$4 million	Micromax
August 11, 2011	Series A	$6 million	SAIF Partners, MakeMyTrip
February 1, 2008	Seed Round	$500K	BAF Spectrum

Ixigo – Shareholding

Ixigo’s shareholding pattern as of May 2024, sourced from Tracxn:

Ixigo Shareholders	Percentage
Rajnish Kumar	8.4%
Aloke Bajpai	8.0%
Elevation Capital	22.9%
Sequoia Capital	15.4%
Gamnat	9.5%
Trifecta Capital	3.2%
Malabar Investments	2.6%
Invesco	3.1%
India Acorn Fund	1.5%
Orios Venture Partners	0.7%
Madison India Capital	0.8%
Info Edge Ventures	0.5%
Fosun Kinzon Capital	0.5%
Planify	< 0.1%
IndigoEdge	< 0.1%
BAF Spectrum	–
RAJ Family Foundation	–
3ADeal	–
Angel	–
Total	77.1%

Ixigo – Investments

Ixigo made two key investments: on November 1, 2022, it contributed to FreshBus during a seed round, and on March 3, 2020, it participated in the capital round for gogoBus. These expenditures demonstrate Ixigo’s dedication to promoting innovation and expansion in the travel and associated industries.

Ixigo – Acquisitions

Ixigo has acquired 3 companies to date.

Here are the details:

Date	Company Name	Amount
August 5, 2021	AbhiBus	–
February 4, 2021	Confirmtkt	–
January 11, 2017	Reach App	–

Ixigo – Growth

Some of the main growth highlights of Ixigo are:

Has 400 million annual active users as of October 2024
Has 76.78 million monthly active users as of 2024
Connects over 80 million travelers as of May 2023
It had over 6 million daily active users as of May 2023
It is growing at a velocity of over 8 million downloads as of May 2023
It has a run-rating 50 million bookings on a yearly basis

Ixigo – Financials

Over the past five fiscal years, Ixigo has demonstrated significant growth in revenue and profitability, reflecting its expanding presence in the travel industry.

Particulars	FY24	FY23	FY22	FY21	FY20
Total Revenue	INR 665.1 crore	INR 517.6 crore	INR 384.9 crore	INR 138.4 crore	INR 113 crore
Total Expenses	INR 627.8 crore	INR 484.3 crore	INR 402.5 crore	INR 135.7 crore	INR 139.6 crore
Profit/Loss	INR 73.1 crore	INR 23.4 crore	INR -21.1 crore	INR 7.5 crore	INR -26.6 crore

In FY24, Ixigo reported a total revenue of INR 665.1 crore, marking a 28% increase from INR 517.6 crore in FY23. Expenses also rose to INR 627.8 crore in FY24, up from INR 484.3 crore in FY23. Despite the increase in costs, the company’s net profit surged to INR 73.1 crore, more than tripling from INR 23.4 crore in FY23. This marks a significant turnaround from losses of INR 21.1 crore in FY22 and INR 26.6 crore in FY20, showing strong financial growth and improved profitability over the years.

Ixigo Revenue Breakdown

Revenue Source	FY24	FY23
Revenue from Operations	INR 655.91 crore	INR 501.3 crore
Other Income	INR 9.2 crore	INR 16.3 crore
Total Revenue	INR 665.1 crore	INR 517.6 crore

The revenue from operations grew by approximately 31% from INR 501.3 crore in FY23 to INR 655.9 crore in FY24, indicating a strong performance in Ixigo’s core business activities.

Ixigo Expense Breakdown

Expense Type	FY24	FY23
Employee Benefit Expense	INR 141 crore	INR 126.3 crore
Finance Costs	INR 2.9 crore	INR 0.9 crore
Depreciation and Amortization	INR 12.9 crore	INR 10.8 crore
Other Expenses	INR 471 crore	INR 346.3 crore
Total Expenses	INR 627.8 crore	INR 484.3 crore

Total expenses increased by approximately 30% from INR 484.3 crore in FY23 to INR 627.8 crore in FY24, with significant rises in employee benefits and other expenses.

Ixigo Profit/Loss:

Profit Metrics	FY24	FY23
Gross Profit	INR 38.1 crore	INR 33.3 crore
Operating Profit	INR 61.1 crore	INR 20.7 crore
Net Profit	INR 73.1 crore	INR 23.4 crore

Ixigo’s net profit saw a substantial increase, more than tripling from INR 23.4 crore in FY23 to INR 73.1 crore in FY24, highlighting improved operational efficiency and profitability.

Quick Summary

Revenue Growth: Ixigo’s total revenue grew by approximately 28% in FY24 compared to FY23, driven by a 31% increase in revenue from operations.
Expense Increase: Total expenses rose by about 30% in FY24, with notable increases in employee benefits and other expenses.
Profit Surge: Net profit more than tripled, reaching INR 73.1 crore in FY24, indicating enhanced profitability and operational efficiency.

These financial trends suggest that Ixigo is effectively scaling its operations while maintaining profitability, positioning itself strongly in the competitive travel industry.

Ixigo – IPO

Shares of Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of Ixigo, had a robust debut on the stock exchanges on June 18. The stock listed at Rs 138.10 on the NSE, reflecting a 48.5% premium over its issue price of Rs 93. Similarly, on the BSE mainboard segment, the stock listed at Rs 135.00 per share, marking a 45.16% premium over the IPO issue price of Rs 93. The Mainboard Le Travenues Technology IPO (Ixigo) was a book-built IPO priced at the upper end of the band at Rs 93 per share.

Ixigo – Partnerships

Ixigo has partnered with a number of organizations to date. Some of its partnerships/collaborations include:

Partnership with Flipkart to enhance the Flipkart flight bookings
Partnership with Indira Gandhi International Airport to help the passengers with the airport’s website.
Ixigo partnered with Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) to help set up, design, configure, and maintain a ‘Unified Ticketing Solution’ (UTS) on the Cloud Platform of APSRTC.

Ixigo – Sponsorship

On August 21, 2023, India’s travel booking platform revealed that it would be the Men’s Asia Cup 2023’s “official sponsor.” Ixigo has never before been connected to a significant athletic event of this kind.

From August 30 to September 17, 2023, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will jointly host the Men’s Asia Cup.

Ixigo – Marketing Campaign

This campaign brings back memories of the train era when we witness an astronaut outside the spacecraft waving a tea kettle, floating, and exclaiming “Chai Chai” after a tea vendor, just as we frequently do on buses or trains.

Ixigo – Awards and Achievements

Here are some highlights of the awards and recognition that Ixigo has gained thus far:

Won the Bronze Abby at the Goa Fest 2014 for its famous ‘don’t travel Patti bandh ke’ television commercial.
Felicitated with a gold at the Indian Digital Media Awards (IDMA) 2014 for its PNR status app
Received a silver Echo award in 2014 by the Direct Marketing Association International (DMAI) for the brand’s efforts in content marketing
Has been recognized as the fastest-growing travel company in India in the Economic Times’ 2020 growth champions report
Featured in the Discover Channel’s ‘India Startup Stories’ as a leading startup
Declared as the winner of the New code of Work Awards in the mid-size business category
The media company, Skift, recognized Ixigo among the 6 best homegrown online travel players in the Indian travel sector

Ixigo – Competitors

Ixigo has a whole lot of competitors in the market. Starting from a private applications like MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo to government applications like IRCTC train booking, the market is filled with online booking and transaction-facilitating portals. With it, indulging in both conveyance and accommodation, the range of competitors it faces gets doubled.

Ixigo – Future Plans

Ixigo, a prominent online travel aggregator in India, has re-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI on February 14, 2024, indicating its intention to go public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), marking a key step toward its ambitious goals for the future.

The IPO is set up to comprise a new offering of 120 crore rupees, highlighting Ixigo’s calculated decision to raise money for more growth and development. In addition to the new offering, 6,66,77,674 equity shares are part of an Offer for Sale (OFS) component that gives current shareholders, such as SAIF Partners, Peak XV Partners, Micromax, and others, the chance to sell their shares.

Notably, with a 26% increase in Ixigo’s revenue from INR 206.47 crore in Q2 FY25 from Q2 FY24, Ixigo stands out as a unique and successful company in the Indian online travel tech startup scene. Ixigo’s strong financial results set the company up for growth, innovation, and sustained profitability as it prepares to go public and establish itself as a major player in the travel technology industry.

FAQs

What is Ixigo?

If you are wondering about the Ixigo app, then this app will help you find your travel solutions. The Ixigo app will help you monitor and book flights, trains, buses, hotels, and more.

How to create account on Ixigo?

Creating an Ixigo account is really easy. For this, one just need to Sign up on the Ixigo website or via the Ixigo app, and then register themselves on Ixigo. After this is done, followed by some other verifications, he/she would be able to login to the Ixigo portal and go about their bookings.

What does Ixigo do?

Ixigo is a travel tech company that helps users book flights, trains, buses, and hotels through its platform.

What is Ixigo net worth?

Ixigo’s overall market cap stands at INR 6,420 crore as of 2024.

Who owns Ixigo?

Rajnish Kumar and Aloke Bajpai are known as the Ixigo owners.

How does Ixigo make money?

Ixigo mainly serves as an intermediary between the user and a travel booking website and earns a commission per booking. Ixigo’s meta-search business model associates travel contracts from 100+ travel site.

How much Funding has Ixigo raised?

Ixigo has raised a total of $72 million in funding over 7 rounds. Their latest funding was on October 20, 2021, from a Debt Financing round.

Is Ixigo government or private company?

Ixigo is a public company, it went public on Jun 18, 2024.

What is Ixigo customer care number?

Ixigo Customer care number is +91 116 122 4444.

February 5, 2025

The Inspiring Journey of the Founder of Ixigo: Aloke Bajpai

Ixigo’s visionary co-founder, Aloke Bajpai, has reimagined the travel tech business in India. From a tech-savvy student at IIT Kanpur to the man behind one of India’s leading AI-powered travel platforms, his journey is a story of innovation, perseverance, and a forward-thinking approach.

Bajpai first honed his skills at global travel tech company Amadeus before co-founding Ixigo with Rajnish Kumar back in 2007. Their idea was simple yet revolutionary: The idea to develop a technology-based meta-search engine to ease the travel process for travellers in India and make their journeys faster and more efficient is what they wanted to push.

In this StartupTalky story, we will cover his early life, his struggles, Ixigo Group’s founding, and more. We will look at how innovative Aloke Bajpai has been in becoming a business tycoon.

Aloke Bajpai: Biography

Name	Aloke Bajpai
Birth Place	Gurugram, Haryana
Education	B.tech, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT) General Management, MBA, INSEAD MBA, The Wharton School Methodist High School
Profession	Founder, Chairman, Managing Director & Group CEO at Ixigo

Aloke Bajpai: Early Life and Education
Aloke Bajpai: Career
Aloke Bajpai: Ixigo
Aloke Bajpai: Investments
Aloke Bajpai: Controversies
Aloke Bajpai: Awards and Recognition

Aloke Bajpai: Early Life and Education

Aloke Bajpai - Co-Founder and CEO — Aloke Bajpai – Co-Founder and CEO

Aloke Bajpai’s early life marked the beginning of his future achievements. Bajpai grew up in India and has always shown a knack for technology and problem-solving. An exceptional aptitude for academics, in math and sciences in particular, marked his early education, which led him to pursue engineering later in life.

A passion for excellence and innovation drove Bajpai and he went on to pursue his undergraduate studies at one of India’s top engineering institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He developed his analytical skills and learned engineering fundamentals at IIT, majoring in electrical engineering. At this time, he was developing his technical skills and his ability to solve complex problems in a methodical way that would prove useful in his entrepreneurial career.

After graduating in 2001, Bajpai went to Europe, joining Amadeus, a global leader in travel technology. It expanded his horizons and gave him an idea of how digital product management at the scale works. His experience at Amadeus, particularly on web-based products, only increased his interest in the digital travel industry and helped shape his vision for Amadeus’ future. At that time, Bajpai saw the possibility of the sector featuring new solutions, especially in the Indian travel market, which he felt was ready to be disrupted.

Having a strong background in technology, Bajpai chose to strengthen his business skills with an MBA from INSEAD. He not only learned the basics of business management but also got a global perspective of entrepreneurship here. He was surrounded by peers from various backgrounds; this interaction helped him sharpen his strategic thinking and increased his understanding of market dynamics. Aloke’s time at INSEAD bridged his technical background with business acumen and helped him launch ixigo in 2007.

Aloke Bajpai: Career

Aloke Bajpai has become a leading and dynamic technology and travel sector leader with over two decades of experience. His journey to be a systems & network engineer at Amadeus, then a software engineer was truly inspiring. During his early days at Amadeus, he was an expert in network operations, and security and a Linux and Apache evangelist. This foundational experience resulted in his deep understanding of the complexity of systems and operational scalability in the travel technology domain.

Aloke Bajpai co-founded Ixigo in 2007, a leading AI-powered travel app that has emerged as a central pillar of the digital travel ecosystem in India. Since then, he has played a key role in bringing ixigo to become one of India’s leading platforms, serving to the next billion users in travel. And under his visionary helm, ixigo added platforms like Confirmtkt and AbhiBus to its footprint which reaffirmed his business acumen in the technology-driven travel market.

Aloke Bajpai is a seed investor at Freshbus, an electric long-range intercity bus service. His forward-thinking approach to sustainable transportation shows his commitment to modern, tech-driven solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. In addition, Bajpai is the Director at Confirmtkt, one of the ixigo group’s leading ticketing platforms for train travel in India.

Aloke Bajpai’s career is a fine example of how a man with deep knowledge and foresight can lead an organization and is respected by the Indian business community. His work continues to inspire and influence the future of digital travel and technology, cementing his place as a true pioneer in his field.

Aloke Bajpai: Ixigo

Aloke Bajpai’s story is one of remarkable tenacity, foresight, and an unstinting commitment to use technology to make millions of Indian users’ travel experiences better. Ixigo was conceived in 2007 by Rajnish Kumar and Bajpai as a meta-search engine for travel. Ixigo was based on the belief that India’s travel landscape was in dire need of a more consumer-centric approach. Bajpai and Kumar are both graduates of IIT Kanpur and former colleagues at the travel tech firm Amadeus, and they saw a need for a platform that would empower travelers by facilitating their travel plans and booking through robust data and artificial intelligence.

Co-founders started Ixigo modestly in a single-room office in Gurugram with less than INR 20 lakhs in savings between the both of them. It began as a meta-search engine that would aggregate deals from various travel websites and amassed 100,000 users in just six months without spending anything on marketing. The organic growth behind the founders’ resourceful approach was delivering value through product innovation and overspending on advertisements. The founders’ deep understanding of travel tech, along with their focus on developing a great user experience, drove the initial traction.

In 2021, ixigo made a strategic pivot into India’s underserved train and bus travel markets, which resulted in accelerated growth in its user base. ConfirmTkt, a waitlist prediction and train ticket booking platform, was acquired by ixigo as part of the company’s commitment to this segment, giving it a market that few had ventured into. This has turned out to be a prescient decision; today, ixigo is India’s largest train ticketing platform, responsible for INR 501 crore in operating revenue in FY23, with train and bus bookings accounting for a significant part of this.

The high point in the journey of Ixigo was when it was launched on the 2024 Indian stock exchange. Moreover, the share of the parent company of Ixigo, Le Traveneus Technology, which was opened at a very high premium was the reflection of the confidence stakeholders have in the company’s future growth.

Ixigo’s impressive listing and market performance were markers of its evolution from a fledgling startup to a major player worth about INR 6,275.87 crore. This was not just a financial milestone but a testament to the vision of Bajpai and Kumar to change the way travel was undertaken by Indian users, powered by technology and user experience.

Aloke Bajpai: Investments

Investment	Date	Platform Focus	Stage of Investment	Sector/Industry
InstaAstro	16-May-2024	Astrology and wellness services	Seed funding	Consumer services, wellness
OnlineTyari	09-Nov-2024	Competitive exam preparation	Angel & Series A funding rounds	Education, digital platforms
Twigly	26-Jul-2018	Food delivery	Angel round	Food services, tech
Overcart	20-Feb-2020	Refurbished and overstock products marketplace	Series A funding	E-commerce, sustainability
ZAPR	07-Mar-2017	Media consumption analytics	Early venture	Data analytics, media

Aloke Bajpai: Controversies

The CEO and co-founder of the online travel and hotel booking platform Ixigo, Aloke Bajpai, has been under fire after a reported security breach that exposed the data of 18 million users. The controversy first hit the headlines when the company issued an alert to its 100 million users after an alleged data breach, telling them to change their passwords. But Bajpai has said publicly that at present there is no evidence of a breach, and the investigation is underway with the help of security experts.

However, the company’s response has not been well received. It also came just days after the alleged hack and raised concerns that the company had not communicated adequately with its users about the risks. Several critics have asked, whether Ixigo had done enough to counter the breach or was proactive enough in its response to the breach.

Ixigo also defended its data security practices, noting that it stores only names and email IDs, not passwords, which are encrypted using a hashing algorithm. Even if someone gains access to the stored data, he said, they would not be able to access passwords, which are hashed and nearly impossible to unhash.

He added that most users log in through Google or Facebook accounts, which employ two-factor authentication to keep out intruders.

The incident has also opened a wider discussion over tech companies’ security protocols and what could happen if data is breached in an increasingly digital world. Bajpai says Ixigo’s infrastructure is still secure and no user accounts have been compromised, but the scandal has drawn attention to the company’s practices and its handling of sensitive user information in a highly insecure online world.

Aloke Bajpai: Awards and Recognition

Comeback Kid category at the Economic Times Startup Awards 2021
Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Service Business—Travel 2021 at the Entrepreneur Awards 2021.
He was also awarded with the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2022

FAQ

Who is the owner of ixigo?

The owners of ixigo are Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar, who co-founded the company.

Is ixigo profitable?

Yes, ixigo is profitable. It achieved profitability in recent years, driven by its focus on cost-efficiency and growth in the travel tech sector.

How old is ixigo?

ixigo was founded in 2007, making it 17 years old as of 2024.

November 23, 2024

OnlineTyari – Preparing Students For Sarkari Jobs!

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.

In 2018, Tamil Nadu Assembly Secretariat received 4,600 applications for the post of sweepers and sanitary workers. While nothing is fascinating about this news, what should bother you is the fact that the majority of these applicants were graduates and post-graduates! Again, the news of 93,000 candidates including graduates, postgraduates, and even Ph.D. holders applying for peon jobs in UP was also trending for quite some time. These are just two incidents among numerous others that prove the obsession Indians have towards government jobs. While this craze for ‘Sarkari Naukri’ would never cease, thankfully, preparing for government job examinations and tests undergone serious revamp.

Earlier, aspirants had two ways of preparing for such entrance tests: enroll in a coaching center which in many cases was quite expensive. The second option was of self-study that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Moreover, it involves collecting lots of material for studying in the absence of proper guidance (this doesn’t mean that there’s a shortage of people who excel through self-study).

If one considers backward areas where the popularity and awareness of government jobs aren’t widespread, thousands of capable students altogether miss the chance of giving a shot at such exams. However, the advent of edtech has changed the scenario with the availability of resources, guidance, and what not at the tip of one’s fingers through the internet. Gurgaon based OnlineTyari is one such startup making it easier for the Indian government job aspirants to succeed in their attempts.

OnlineTyari – Company Highlights

Startup Name	OnlineTyari
Headquarter	Gurgaon
Founders	Bhola Meena and Rajveer Meena
Sector	EdTech
Founded	2014
Parent Organization	Next Door Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Website	onlinetyari.com
Contact	info@onlinetyari.com

OnlineTyari – About
OnlineTyari – Industry Details
OnlineTyari – Founders
OnlineTyari – How It Started
OnlineTyari – Revenue Model
OnlineTyari – Funding And Investors
OnlineTyari – Initial Challenges
OnlineTyari – Competitors
OnlineTyari – Partnerships And Tie-ups
OnlineTyari – Growth
OnlineTyari – Future Plans

OnlineTyari – About

OnlineTyari, the brainchild of Bhola Meena and Rajveer Meena, is among India’s leading web/mobile app platforms for online preparation of different competitive exams in India. Headquartered in Gurgaon, OnlineTyari is turbocharged by the latest technologies for solving test preparation problems and facilitates the entire learning experience for serious aspirants. Its unique data-driven and deep analytical approach makes it unique in the field.

Enrolled students can avail mock assessment tests, test preparation e-books, and study material in three languages: Hindi, English, and Marathi. Students can also buy video lectures for various subjects and exams via OnlineTyari.

Also, coaching classes can tie-up with OnlineTyari for test prep solutions and other technical needs. The company recently established its offline presence by establishing Experience Centers in Patna and Jaipur, where students can take tests and have their doubts cleared. The company regularly generates engaging and informative content and sends alerts to the students about the exam schedules and application form deadlines.

“Our product was well taken and loyal users have been spreading good words about us in the student community. Keeping that vision in sight, we have kept product so simple that our users across geographies can use it.”, says Bhola Meena, founder of OnlineTyari.

OnlineTyari – Industry Details

Based on a report published by KPMG and Google, India’s online education market is set to grow to $1.96 billion by 2021 and the online test preparation segment is expected to burgeon at a CAGR of 64%. The market for government and public sector entrance exams in India is huge, with more than 20 million aspirants every year and counting.

OnlineTyari – Founders

Bhola Meena and Rajveer Meena co-founded OnlineTyari in 2014.

Bhola Meena, with a B.Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur, has been constantly employing his skills and hard-earned knowledge for pushing forward the online education trend in the country and is committed to bringing in innovations in this sector.

An entrepreneur by nature, Bhola has been instrumental in giving wings to two other start-ups in the past. He was a partner at HinKhoj.com—a platform for English to Hindi translation and English-Hindi learning. Prior to HinKhoj, Bhola co-founded and served as the CTO for GetMeCab.com, one of the first three taxi-hailing apps in India. He was also associated with firms like Microsoft and the Aricent Group.

Rajveer Meena (the co-founder) has over a decade of proven experience ranging from software development and product management, to business development. After earning his B.E. Degree in Computer Engineering in 2004, he joined Tata Consultancy Services as an Assistant Systems Engineer. He has had professional stints at Ramco and HPCL and established himself as an emergent business leader. With a PGDM from the prestigious IIM Lucknow, highly-motivated Rajveer embraces a consistent, deep-focus approach in his career.

Today, his stellar track record of building teams and implementing ideas has led him to become a key visionary for OnlineTyari. His expertise lies in decoding user behavior, spotting implicit needs, building a product roadmap, and delivering smart solutions. He shares with his team the art of solving problems from the root of successfully creating a strategic business differentiator.

OnlineTyari – How It Started

Both Bhola Meena and Rajveer Meena have known each other for the last 14 years and no, they’re not siblings! Bhola took an exit from Getmecab in 2013. While he was spending time at his ancestral village in Rajasthan after off-boarding Getmecab, some children from the neighborhood visited him to for some doubts related to their studies. One of them was preparing for a government job and requested Bhola to bring back certain books, guides, and mock papers from the renowned coaching institutes from Delhi upon his next visit to the village.

Deliberating further, he came across a number of students in the village who aspired and dreamt of doing something big in life but weren’t unable to live up to their potential due to a lack of resources. They neither had the right resources to prepare for national-level exams nor the awareness about the scores of government services related competitive exams being held across the country.

When he discussed this with a couple of friends including Rajveer, the ideation of OnlineTyari began. They identified a huge gap that had to be filled for making information accessible and organized to ensure the younger generation getting the jobs they truly deserve. They conducted some market research and organized surveys in a couple of cities such as Jaipur, Kota, and Delhi before starting. The initial response was overwhelming and they started working on OnlineTyari’s portal from Jaipur in 2014.

Bhola and Rajveer understood the real need of students and started delivering value through the OnlineTyari app and website.

OnlineTyari – Revenue Model

At present, OnlineTyari is working on monetizing its services through an annual subscription-based revenue model—TyariPlus. TyariPlus was launched in the last week of March 2018 and over 7500+ students have subscribed to this product —. They are hoping to touch over 25,000+ paid monthly subscribers in 4-6 months. Students usually appear for 5-10 exams in a year and end up spending an average of 3000 to 5000 for preparation courses. With TyariPlus, OnlineTyari is offering the same value at @1499 for an annual subscription. As an introductory offer, this plan is available at INR 399 for a limited period. Through TyariPlus, students get the following benefits:

Material for 25+ exams with 1000+ mock tests for the next 12 months.
Preparation materials in the following languages: Hindi, English, and Marathi.
A counseling session with experts.
Personalized analytics.
Student-driven forum.

Apart from TyariPlus, students can also opt for separate packages for different exams and subjects.

OnlineTyari – Funding And Investors

OnlineTyari has raised a total of $5.8M in funding over 2 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Nov 9, 2016 from a Series A round.

Date	Stage	Funding Amonunt	Investors
September 2015	Angel Round	$750K	500 Startups, Mohandas Pai, Tandem Capital, Vikram Chachra and Aloke Bajpai co-founder & CEO of Ixigo
November 2016	Series A	$5M	Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

OnlineTyari – Initial Challenges

In the early years (2014-15), users’ response for paid courses was sluggish courtesy of factors such as low trust in online preparation resources, greater familiarity with traditional study methods, and lack of online payment infrastructure. But the team decided to stay on course and learned the art of survival in such crucibles. The vision to make an impact outweighed fleeting difficulties.

Gradually, students’ responses to the product improved and OnlineTyari started getting lots of inbound feedback on various fronts. The company did not look back and continues creating value for students. Edtech platforms have witnessed significant strides since early 2017. This is evident with the spurt in the adoption of paid learning platforms, and the blossoming of ventures like Unacademy, Neo Stencils, and Byju’s.

OnlineTyari – Competitors

OnlineTyari counts Unacademy, Oliveboard, Neostencil, Gradeup, Testbook, Toprankers as its competitors.

However, the vernacular approach has provided OnlineTyari the much-needed penetration in Hindi and Marathi speaking states and has helped it stay above others in the competition. The easy to use product coupled with the vernacular diversity has resulted in super growth that too without significant spending on marketing. This has given OnlineTyari an edge over its rivals. OnlineTyari’s daily submitted assessments are way more than those of its closest competitor.

OnlineTyari – Partnerships and Tie-ups

OnlineTyari has partnered with ePayLater to provide its customers with the convenient option of registering for online courses on job-oriented tests, and paying for them later. OnlineTyari has also partnered with various educational institutions, coaching institutes, and individual tutors who provide quality material for examinations like IBPS, SSC, UPSC, GATE, etc. The company also partners with various coupon sites and Paytm to sell its subscription.

OnlineTyari – Growth

With vernacular diversity and coverage for multiple examinations, the company has 8.5 million registered users and 7 million students have downloaded the OnlineTyari app. Presently over 5,50,000+ students us its services every day. Majority of the users in the case OnlineTyari hail from cities such as Patna, Jaipur, Indore, Lucknow, and Ajmer, in addition to large metros such as Delhi and Pune.

OnlineTyari – Future Plans

OnlineTyari aspires to become India’s No. 1 test preparation platform. To achieve this, the company will be expanding its offline presence in North India. It is also looking to include more languages on its platform soon. With a clear vision and strategy to leave its mark in the edtech sector, OnlineTyari endeavors to bring the youth of the country on a single digital platform and help them prepare for their dream government jobs.

FAQs

What is OnlineTyari?

OnlineTyari is a web and mobile app platform delivering educational contents, mock tests and guidance for students and job aspirants preparing for various exams in India.

Who is the founder of OnlineTyari?

Bhola Meena and Rajveer Meena

When was OnlineTyari founded?

2014

April 3, 2021