Matrix Partners India leads investment in WeAreHolidays

Delhi, India '“ August 5, 2014: Matrix Partners India today announced that it has acquired a significant minority stake in WeAreHolidays, India's leading online marketplace for booking customized holiday packages. Matrix Partners India along with the existing angel investors Blume Ventures and GSF Superangel Investors, co-invested in this round of equity funding for the Company. WeAreHolidays will use the funds to grow its business and deepen its technology and analytics expertise.

"Indians travelling overseas for leisure alone is a $5 to $7 Billion market and is growing at 40% annually. 10% of this comprises complex customized holidays, a segment which is growing much faster than other segments as travellers seek more personalization and control over their holidays. We believe there is a huge opportunity to leverage technology to re-define the experience of leisure travellers in an industry which has traditionally been very slow at adopting technology & new business models. Across the world we've seen how marketplaces have brought more choice & power to the consumer and we believe holidays are no different. We're excited to have Matrix as a partner in this process and our growth. Matrix's deep experience across various industries, geographies and markets will be invaluable as we look to re-define the way holidays have been packaged, sold and serviced.' said Deepak Wadhwa, co'“founder and CEO of WeAreHolidays.

"India has become the fastest growing outbound travel market, aided by an increase in the number of affordable international travel options, higher disposable income and a penchant for bespoke experiences. The number of Indians travelling overseas is set to rise from 17 million to around 50 million by 2020, making it the second largest outbound travel market globally, next only to China. It is our privilege to be associated with Deepak Wadhwa, Harkirat Singh and Mohit Piplani, the co-founders of WeAreHolidays, who have built a unique managed marketplace model to best serve the progressive Indian traveller.' said Tarun Davda, Vice-President, Matrix India.

"We are strongly positive about the team, product and market opportunity. The team has demonstrated a deep desire to understand the Indian travellers' need to plan and customize their holiday more efficiently. This is a difficult problem to solve and their early success and efforts got noticed by investors. We're happy to see that Matrix has joined this partnership to help scale WeAreHolidays to a leading consumer travel brand.' saidKarthik Reddy, Managing Partner, Blume Ventures. Sachin Bhatia, co'“founder of MakeMyTrip and an angel investor in WeAreHolidays added, "The team at WeAreHolidays is one of the best I've seen in this domain. They bring together a deep understanding of the travel ecosystem, consumers & technology. I am very excited by the product & technology innovations the team is working on. The fresh investment by Matrix will help the team bring these innovations to market and scale up their managed marketplace model.'

About WeAreHolidays:
Founded in 2011 by Deepak Wadhwa, Harkirat Singh (both former Product Managers at MakeMyTrip) and Mohit Piplani, WeAreHolidays enables travellers to plan and book their holidays online. The company works on a technology enabled managed marketplace modelto help people get inspired, research, plan, customize, book and share their holidays. The company leverages its proprietary recommendation platform to create and plan holiday itineraries and services them through its supplier marketplace.Further information is available at www.weareholidays.co.in

About Matrix Partners India:
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 3,000 crore under management. The firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer market at the seed, early and early growth stages. The firm has invested in several market leading companies in the consumer technology space including Quikr (online classifieds), Olacabs (cab marketplace), Stayzilla (stays marketplace), LimeRoad (social commerce marketplace), Mswipe (mobile POS), Newshunt (local language mobile platform) and U2opia (social mobile apps) among others. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with US $3 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in