Online Travel Agency ‘Via’ gets $10M funding from Sequoia – OTA space picks up steam again
By Manoj Govindassamy at 27 January, 2010, 2:06 pm
…The recent funding from Sequoia Capital to Online Travel Agency “Via” proves this and has infused fresh blood and hope to the whole segment.Via, formerly FlightRaja is fairly a new entrant in the Indian Online Travel space but has a turnover of Rs…. 5 years back, Online Travel Agency (OTA) business segment was one of the most sought after investments by the Venture Capitalists and Big Pockets. MakeMyTrip.com, TravelGuru.com, Yatra.com, Cleartrip.com (my favourite) all rooted from then.What was considered as one of the promising business verticals 5 yrs back, lost its shine sooner after series of bad news such as — Airlines starting their own online booking sites, substantial reduction in OTA commissions, economy downturn and air traffic decrease, airlines strike, etc., ….All other OTAs suffered many fold decrease in valuations.So, when we are thinking OTA space as NO more lucrative, the recent $10M funding by Sequoia Capital to “Via” is quite surprising and king of fresh blood infusion and hope to the entire OTA space. What I think the reason for “Via” being the best pick in …
Read More >>Narayana Murthy is Venture Capitalist now – sells Infosys Shares to set up VC Fund
By Manoj Govindassamy at 24 October, 2009, 1:25 am
One of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country, Mr. N.R Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys Technologies has recently sold his 0.55% stake in the company for Rs…. Total VC Investments in the first nine months of 2009 is at $201 million against $709 million investment for the corresponding period last year. So, with more Venture Funds we can see the revival of venture investments in India soon.In few bulk deals, Mr. NRN Murthy sold a total of 800,000 shares on this Wednesday and Thursday and proceeds of the sale (Rs…. It is known, apart from 0.55% stake Murthy’s family also hold 4.4% stake in Infosys.With this new Venture Fund, Mr. Murthy joins the long list of Indian technology entrepreneurs turned investors.
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