The problem
For decades, booking travel in India meant a neighbourhood agent for flights, phone calls to hotels of uncertain quality, and a separate bus counter — opaque prices, fake listings, and no help when plans collapsed. Neither travellers nor small hotels and bus operators had a trusted digital marketplace.
How it works
MakeMyTrip, founded in 2000 by Deep Kalra for the US–India diaspora corridor, aggregates flights, 60,000+ Indian accommodation properties (plus 500,000 abroad), holiday packages, and bus seats into one app alongside its Goibibo and redBus brands (acquired via the 2016 Ibibo merger). Travellers compare and book in one flow; suppliers get national distribution. The company listed on Nasdaq in September 2010 and is headquartered in Gurugram.
Pain points
Agent markups, unreliable hotel information, fragmented flight-plus-hotel-plus-bus booking, and zero recourse on cancellations.
Business model
Commissions on air, hotel, and bus bookings plus traveller convenience fees, supplier advertising, and ancillaries (insurance, transfers, non-transport add-ons) — the “other” ancillary segment grew its adjusted margin 45.5% year over year in Q3 FY26.
Challenges
Fierce undercutting from Yatra, EaseMyTrip, and global OTAs; competition-regulator scrutiny of hotel rate practices; and vulnerability to demand shocks and domestic airline supply constraints.
Funding
- Raised: public company (Nasdaq: MMYT since September 2010); round details omitted (unverified from inspected sources).
- Valuation: MISSING.
Latest — January 2026
For Q3 FY26 (quarter ended 31 December 2025) MakeMyTrip reported revenue up 10.6% year over year to $295.7 million with adjusted operating profit crossing $50 million for the first time ($50.7 million) — following a record FY25 with $9.8 billion in gross bookings, air ticketing revenue of $242 million (+20%), hotels and packages of $520 million (+20%), and bus ticketing of $119 million (+29%).