Online holiday marketplace, GoFro has raised close to $10 million in its second round of equity financing, led by Japanese travel major HIS Co and MakeMyTrip, reports ET. Owned and operated under Bona Vita Technologies, GoFro informed that proceeds from the Series B, which is yet to be closed and could cross $10 million, will be used by the company to further build its tech platform and expand to new geographies, along with growing its supply and agent network.
Commenting on the development, Amitabh Misra, Founder and CEO, Bona Vita informed ET, “Given the relationship with HIS, one of Japan's leading travel companies, we expect to enter the country over the course of the next two quarters. We are also evaluating other international markets at the same time.”
Founded by Misra in 2015, GoFro brought MakeMyTrip on board as its first investor the same year, even while it was in a stealth mode. MakeMyTrip, which had invested about $5 million in the company from its $15 million Innovation Fund, holds a controlling stake in the venture.
Misra, after stepping down as the chief technology officer at online marketplace Snapdeal was inspired by cumbersome travel experiences to found GoFro. According to the company website, as an ardent traveler, Misra has made it his personal mission to leverage technology to simplify and transform the way the world travels.
A B.Tech from IIT Kanpur and MBA from University of California at Berkeley, he built Snapdeal, one of India's marketplace leaders, from scratch as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Prior to all this, he had spent over a decade in the Silicon Valley building consumer internet technology.
According to the founder, the Series-B round could expand further, given that the firm is currently engaged in discussions with multiple investors, indicating the potential new backers could also be strategic in nature.
“Given that we are looking to grow, and move into newer markets, we do lean more towards strategic investors who, we feel, bring more to the table compared to pure financial investors," Misra said.
Commenting on the development, Amitabh Misra, Founder and CEO, Bona Vita informed ET, “Given the relationship with HIS, one of Japan's leading travel companies, we expect to enter the country over the course of the next two quarters. We are also evaluating other international markets at the same time.”
Founded by Misra in 2015, GoFro brought MakeMyTrip on board as its first investor the same year, even while it was in a stealth mode. MakeMyTrip, which had invested about $5 million in the company from its $15 million Innovation Fund, holds a controlling stake in the venture.
Misra, after stepping down as the chief technology officer at online marketplace Snapdeal was inspired by cumbersome travel experiences to found GoFro. According to the company website, as an ardent traveler, Misra has made it his personal mission to leverage technology to simplify and transform the way the world travels.
A B.Tech from IIT Kanpur and MBA from University of California at Berkeley, he built Snapdeal, one of India's marketplace leaders, from scratch as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Prior to all this, he had spent over a decade in the Silicon Valley building consumer internet technology.
According to the founder, the Series-B round could expand further, given that the firm is currently engaged in discussions with multiple investors, indicating the potential new backers could also be strategic in nature.
“Given that we are looking to grow, and move into newer markets, we do lean more towards strategic investors who, we feel, bring more to the table compared to pure financial investors," Misra said.
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