Andreessen Horowitz-Backed Navan Eyes India’s $35 Bn Travel Market Pie With Tripeur’s Acquisition

US-based traveltech platform Navan, earlier known as TripActions, is planning to enter the $35 Bn travel market in India with the acquisition of Bengaluru-based corporate travel management startup Tripeur. The financials of the deal have been kept under wraps.

Founded in 2015 by Thiagarajan Rajagopalan and Sajit Chacko, Tripeur offers business travel management services to its clients. While the Indian travel management startup is backed by investors such as Pentathlon Ventures and Incubate Fund, the US-based platform is backed by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.   

According to the CEO of Tripeur, Thiagarajan Rajagopalan, the move will help both the companies enhance their respective operations and offer better services and products.

“There is unprecedented demand for high-quality corporate travel solutions in India. Navan’s scalability, combined with Tripeur’s localised technology, inventory, and support, ensures the group will offer unparalleled products and services in the region. We are thrilled to become a part of Navan’s success story in India and beyond,” Rajagopalan said.  

Further, Tripeur will enable the Navan team to scale and localise its technology in order to serve its growing list of enterprise customers.

“Employees are tech-savvy and require online, mobile-first solutions designed for people, whether located in the US, the UK, India, or anywhere else. Regardless of their geographic location, global companies are no longer willing to compromise on tech. The world has changed,” said Navan CEO and co-founder Ariel Cohen, adding that India leads the world in per capita mobile data consumption, making it essential to prioritise mobile-centric solutions.

Tripeur will complement Navan’s all-in-one software design, providing solutions to enhance the traveller experience, maximise savings, and streamline travel admin efficiencies. 

Meanwhile, the Indian tourism and hospitality industry has also picked up pace on the back of leisure and work travel, ever since the COVID-19-induced lockdowns opened up and the country returned to business as usual. 

The growth is quite visible in the financial statements of traveltech startups such as EaseMyTrip, which reported a 4.15% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit to INR 41.7 Cr in the third quarter of the financial year 2022-23 on strong growth in flights and hotel segments. 

Piggybacking on this growth, EaseMyTrip also acquired a 55% stake in the hotel booking marketplace cheQin. 

Additionally, MakeMyTrip reported a profit of $0.2 Mn in the third quarter of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) against a loss of $9 Mn in the corresponding quarter last year. Another traveltech startup, RateGain, posted a 147X YoY jump in its net profit to INR 13.3 Cr in the December 2022 quarter.

According to a Financial Express report, 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.

Further, the travel market in India is projected to reach $125 Bn by FY27 from an estimated $75 Bn in FY20, as per the World Travel & Tourism Council.