Mumbai-based online travel agency Cleartrip recently received $18.5 million in venture funding, making this the largest round of venture funding in 2008 – according to India Venture Capital Report.

Published: 22 Apr 2008

Mumbai-based online travel agency Cleartrip recently received $18.5 million in venture funding, making this the largest round of venture funding in 2008 – according to India Venture Capital Report.

The company has raised a total of $30.2 million over the past three years.

Investors in the company include as Sherpalo, Kleiner Perkins and Draper Fisher.

On the findings of the report, Sandeep Murthy, CEO, Cleartrip said, "While we have known that customers love our service as evidenced by a 70% repeat transaction rate, this recent round of funding shows that investors' also value the our unique focus on making travel simple through unique deals and great customer service. We are confident that this new round of funding will enable us to create even stronger propositions and set new standards in service, which will collectively drive us to profitability by the end of this calendar year."

On the status of the market, the company stated: "The online travel industry in India was estimated at $2 billion in revenues (the value of transactions as opposed to the earnings of travel firms) in 2007 and is expected to grow to $6 billion in 2010, according to travel research group EyeForTravel. More importantly, investors are banking on exponential future growth once the use of the Internet increases, the number of first- and second-time travelers goes up with more disposable income, airport infrastructure improves and more hotels come on the scene to address the excess demand."