‘Next Billion Users’

Cometh the opportunity, cometh the business idea! In the next 5 years, it is expected that 20 per cent of the next billion users (NBUs) will come from Tier I cities, and a substantial 50 per cent from Tier II and Tier III cities. Significantly, the remaining 30 per cent will come from rural India, states an F&S report.

ixigo, a leading diversified online travel agency (OTA) for the NBUs, focuses on localised content and app features that aim to solve the problems of Tier II and Tier III travellers. A house of brands, Le Travenues Technology Ltd (ixigo) owns and operates multiple brands – ixigo flights, ixigo trains, ConfirmTkt, and Abhibus – each of which has its own app, serving all the use cases of flights, trains, buses, and hotels for their respective target customer groups.

Launched in 2007, Le Travenues Technology Ltd (ixigo) is a technology company focused on empowering Indian travellers to plan, book, and manage their trips. ixigo was initially launched as a meta search website for flights in June 2007 and went mobile-first in 2013. Later, it added the convenience of booking tickets for trains and flights, in addition to hotel and cab booking services, to foray into the OTA market.

Aloke Bajpai, CMD and Group CEO of ixigo, says: “We are a technology company focused on empowering Indian travellers to plan, book, and manage their trips. Our focus on travel utility and customer experience for travellers in the next billion user segment is driven by technology, cost-efficiency, and our culture of innovation, which has made us India’s leading travel ecosystem for the next billion users. Our vision is to become the most customer-centric travel company by offering the best customer experience to our users.”

ixigo evolved from a utility platform to rank among India’s top two largest OTAs. ixigo was the fastest-growing OTA in India, in terms of revenue from operations between Fiscal 2020 and Fiscal 2023 (Source: F&S Report). Its revenue from operations has grown at a CAGR of 92.29 per cent between Fiscal 2021 and Fiscal 2023. ixigo was the largest Indian train ticket distributor in the OTA rail market, with the largest market share of around 51 per cent, in terms of rail bookings, among OTAs as of 31 March, 2023.  

Tech Moat 

Rajnish Kumar, Director and Group Co-CEO of ixigo, says: “Technology forms the basis for our operating leverage and is instrumental in achieving efficiencies in our business processes and operations. We use AI, data science, and machine learning to transform our travel information and crowdsourced data into business intelligence that enhances our travel offerings and improves our operating efficiency.”

ixigo’s proprietary search, caching, train PNR prediction, and crowdsourcing algorithms help it improve customer experience and leverage information from users to provide accurate and meaningful information to solve user pain points. The recently launched ixigo PLAN is an intelligent AI-based trip planner that delivers detailed itineraries and real-time destination information to help travellers plan their journeys. Furthermore, the Abhi Assured product for buses provides customers with compensation of up to 150 per cent of the fare in case of service quality issues, along with a full refund in case of cancellations by customers.

Saurabh Devendra Singh, Group CFO of ixigo, says: “ixigo has a diversified business model with operating leverage. In terms of operational performance, we have seen three times growth in Gross Transaction Value (GTV) and six times growth in passenger segments (FY21-23). We have seen four times growth in Gross Revenue (FY21-23) with a healthy EBITDA margin (8.85 per cent in FY23).”

ixigo also benefited from investments by Peak XV Partners Investments V (formerly SCI Investments V), SAIF Partners (now Elevation), Gamnat Pte Limited (an affiliate of GIC), Malabar India, India Acorn (White Oak), Trifecta Leaders, and Bay Capital, among others. As part of its initial public offering, ixigo is proposing to raise up to Rs740 crore at the upper end of the price band of Rs88 to Rs93 per equity share of face value Rs1, with a proposed market cap of around Rs3,600 crore.