India-based online travel company MakeMyTrip.com plans to establish a $15m fund to invest in early-stage travel technology businesses, Press Trust of India reported on Thursday.
MakeMyTrip has formed a six-person committee to oversee the investments, which will go to small and mid-sized companies in the travel space, with a particular focus on mobile and IP-based businesses.
Rajesh Magow, the company’s CEO for India, said: “We are creating a fund of $15m, which is 10% of our cash position, to back the new innovative ideas in the travel space.”
MakeMyTrip was formed in India in 2000 and went public in the US in 2010. It acquired a 20% stake in travel aggregator Ixigo in 2011 but has not otherwise been active in the corporate venturing or M&A markets.