MAM
Travel agency Make MyTrip appoints marketing head
MUMBAI: MakeMyTrip.com which claims to be India’s largest online travel company has appointed Gayatri Buddha as AVP, Marketing
It has also appointed Venkatesh Bhardwaj to head technology initiatives for the firm. Buddha started her career as a journalist and later moved on to be part of the core launch team of Monsterindia.com. As marketing communications specialist, she rose to the position of senior brand manager and had been successful in positioning monsterindia.com as the leading jobsite in India. Buddha brings with her, in-depth knowledge of the online market and exhaustive consumer insights.
Venkatesh will be heading the technology team – the backbone of MakeMyTrip. A veteran in the industry, Venkatesh – prior to his appointment at MakeMyTrip – was responsible for driving important technological innovations and server management at Mantraonline.com, one of India’s largest horizontal portals and part of the Bharti Telecom conglomerate.
MakeMyTrip.com CEO Deep Kalra said, “In the B2C segment, jobs and travel are the two high growth categories and having worked in one of them for over five years, Gayatri provides the perfect fit to help drive the unique blend of US-India business and the soon to be launched domestic business of Makemytrip.com.
“For any online company, the technology team is the lifeline. It was imperative for us to bring on board someone who not only has sound knowledge about the industry but also a team leader. And we are lucky to have got someone of Venkatesh’s eminence”.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
