Travel startup 30 Sundays recently secured $770,000 in a funding round led by venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures, which specializes in early-stage investments.
Other investors, including Eximius Ventures, First Cheque, and Misfits Capital, also contributed to the round.
The startup plans to use these funds to expand its operations, attract more customers, and improve its customized travel services. With a focus on popular destinations in Europe and Africa, 30 Sundays aims to enhance its offerings, advance its technology, and build strong partnerships with essential suppliers.
“We’ll be putting a substantial amount of our budget into expanding our supply chain, especially in Europe and Africa, to secure partnerships with platforms like digital travel platform Agoda and local suppliers,” cofounder Kshitij Chaudhary said. “We are currently focused on Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but we aim to grow our reach to European markets and parts of Africa, such as South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania.”
Launched in 2022 and based in Gurugram, 30 Sundays targets the outbound travel market, primarily catering to couples. The company uses generative AI to simplify operations, automating processes like gathering customer data and updating trip details. Additionally, it leverages AI to analyze calls and reviews at scale, providing valuable customer insights.
“On the sales side, we have employed a chatbot on our Instagram where we qualify leads, take initial requirements such as destination, number of people, and duration of stay,” Chaudhary said. “Only qualified leads speak to our sales team, streamlining the process significantly.”
The startup aims to increase its monthly booking value significantly, targeting Rs 1.3-1.4 crore by the end of this financial year, up from its current monthly bookings of Rs 50 lakh.
India’s outbound travel market is booming, projected to reach $18.8 billion by 2024 and grow to $55.4 billion by 2034, with an annual growth rate of over 11%, according to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
“We built a solution where we can hear the calls of the seller and the customer. At the end of the call, the seller has an itinerary ready in front of him to send to the customer. The AI can interpret a customer’s desire for specific experiences, like nature or beach accommodations, using large language models (LLMs),” Chaudhary said.
Commenting on the investment, Kitty Agarwal, partner at Infoedge Ventures, said, “30 Sundays is adopting an AI-first approach to solving travel discovery and booking (issues) for couples at scale. This investment aligns with our strategy of backing visionary founders who are pioneering AI-first platforms.”
