The Inspiring Journey of the Founder of Ixigo: Aloke Bajpai

Ixigo’s visionary co-founder, Aloke Bajpai, has reimagined the travel tech business in India. From a tech-savvy student at IIT Kanpur to the man behind one of India’s leading AI-powered travel platforms, his journey is a story of innovation, perseverance, and a forward-thinking approach. 

Bajpai first honed his skills at global travel tech company Amadeus before co-founding Ixigo with Rajnish Kumar back in 2007. Their idea was simple yet revolutionary: The idea to develop a technology-based meta-search engine to ease the travel process for travellers in India and make their journeys faster and more efficient is what they wanted to push.

In this StartupTalky story, we will cover his early life, his struggles, Ixigo Group’s founding, and more. We will look at how innovative Aloke Bajpai has been in becoming a business tycoon. 

Aloke Bajpai: Biography

Aloke Bajpai: Early Life and Education
Aloke Bajpai: Career
Aloke Bajpai: Ixigo
Aloke Bajpai: Investments
Aloke Bajpai: Controversies
Aloke Bajpai: Awards and Recognition

Aloke Bajpai: Early Life and Education

Aloke Bajpai’s early life marked the beginning of his future achievements. Bajpai grew up in India and has always shown a knack for technology and problem-solving. An exceptional aptitude for academics, in math and sciences in particular, marked his early education, which led him to pursue engineering later in life. 

A passion for excellence and innovation drove Bajpai and he went on to pursue his undergraduate studies at one of India’s top engineering institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He developed his analytical skills and learned engineering fundamentals at IIT, majoring in electrical engineering. At this time, he was developing his technical skills and his ability to solve complex problems in a methodical way that would prove useful in his entrepreneurial career.

After graduating in 2001, Bajpai went to Europe, joining Amadeus, a global leader in travel technology. It expanded his horizons and gave him an idea of how digital product management at the scale works. His experience at Amadeus, particularly on web-based products, only increased his interest in the digital travel industry and helped shape his vision for Amadeus’ future. At that time, Bajpai saw the possibility of the sector featuring new solutions, especially in the Indian travel market, which he felt was ready to be disrupted.

Having a strong background in technology, Bajpai chose to strengthen his business skills with an MBA from INSEAD. He not only learned the basics of business management but also got a global perspective of entrepreneurship here. He was surrounded by peers from various backgrounds; this interaction helped him sharpen his strategic thinking and increased his understanding of market dynamics. Aloke’s time at INSEAD bridged his technical background with business acumen and helped him launch ixigo in 2007. 

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Aloke Bajpai: Career

Aloke Bajpai has become a leading and dynamic technology and travel sector leader with over two decades of experience. His journey to be a systems & network engineer at Amadeus, then a software engineer was truly inspiring. During his early days at Amadeus, he was an expert in network operations, and security and a Linux and Apache evangelist. This foundational experience resulted in his deep understanding of the complexity of systems and operational scalability in the travel technology domain.

Aloke Bajpai co-founded Ixigo in 2007, a leading AI-powered travel app that has emerged as a central pillar of the digital travel ecosystem in India. Since then, he has played a key role in bringing ixigo to become one of India's leading platforms, serving to the next billion users in travel. And under his visionary helm, ixigo added platforms like Confirmtkt and AbhiBus to its footprint which reaffirmed his business acumen in the technology-driven travel market.

Aloke Bajpai is a seed investor at Freshbus, an electric long-range intercity bus service. His forward-thinking approach to sustainable transportation shows his commitment to modern, tech-driven solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. In addition, Bajpai is the Director at Confirmtkt, one of the ixigo group’s leading ticketing platforms for train travel in India.

Aloke Bajpai’s career is a fine example of how a man with deep knowledge and foresight can lead an organization and is respected by the Indian business community. His work continues to inspire and influence the future of digital travel and technology, cementing his place as a true pioneer in his field.

Aloke Bajpai: Ixigo

Aloke Bajpai’s story is one of remarkable tenacity, foresight, and an unstinting commitment to use technology to make millions of Indian users’ travel experiences better. Ixigo was conceived in 2007 by Rajnish Kumar and Bajpai as a meta-search engine for travel. Ixigo was based on the belief that India’s travel landscape was in dire need of a more consumer-centric approach. Bajpai and Kumar are both graduates of IIT Kanpur and former colleagues at the travel tech firm Amadeus, and they saw a need for a platform that would empower travelers by facilitating their travel plans and booking through robust data and artificial intelligence.

Co-founders started Ixigo modestly in a single-room office in Gurugram with less than INR 20 lakhs in savings between the both of them. It began as a meta-search engine that would aggregate deals from various travel websites and amassed 100,000 users in just six months without spending anything on marketing. The organic growth behind the founders' resourceful approach was delivering value through product innovation and overspending on advertisements. The founders’ deep understanding of travel tech, along with their focus on developing a great user experience, drove the initial traction.

In 2021, ixigo made a strategic pivot into India’s underserved train and bus travel markets, which resulted in accelerated growth in its user base. ConfirmTkt, a waitlist prediction and train ticket booking platform, was acquired by ixigo as part of the company's commitment to this segment, giving it a market that few had ventured into. This has turned out to be a prescient decision; today, ixigo is India’s largest train ticketing platform, responsible for INR 501 crore in operating revenue in FY23, with train and bus bookings accounting for a significant part of this.

The high point in the journey of Ixigo was when it was launched on the 2024 Indian stock exchange. Moreover, the share of the parent company of Ixigo, Le Traveneus Technology, which was opened at a very high premium was the reflection of the confidence stakeholders have in the company’s future growth. 

Ixigo’s impressive listing and market performance were markers of its evolution from a fledgling startup to a major player worth about INR 6,275.87 crore. This was not just a financial milestone but a testament to the vision of Bajpai and Kumar to change the way travel was undertaken by Indian users, powered by technology and user experience.

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Aloke Bajpai: Investments

Aloke Bajpai: Controversies

The CEO and co-founder of the online travel and hotel booking platform Ixigo, Aloke Bajpai, has been under fire after a reported security breach that exposed the data of 18 million users. The controversy first hit the headlines when the company issued an alert to its 100 million users after an alleged data breach, telling them to change their passwords. But Bajpai has said publicly that at present there is no evidence of a breach, and the investigation is underway with the help of security experts.

However, the company’s response has not been well received. It also came just days after the alleged hack and raised concerns that the company had not communicated adequately with its users about the risks. Several critics have asked, whether Ixigo had done enough to counter the breach or was proactive enough in its response to the breach.

Ixigo also defended its data security practices, noting that it stores only names and email IDs, not passwords, which are encrypted using a hashing algorithm. Even if someone gains access to the stored data, he said, they would not be able to access passwords, which are hashed and nearly impossible to unhash. 

He added that most users log in through Google or Facebook accounts, which employ two-factor authentication to keep out intruders.

The incident has also opened a wider discussion over tech companies’ security protocols and what could happen if data is breached in an increasingly digital world. Bajpai says Ixigo’s infrastructure is still secure and no user accounts have been compromised, but the scandal has drawn attention to the company’s practices and its handling of sensitive user information in a highly insecure online world.

Aloke Bajpai: Awards and Recognition

• Comeback Kid category at the Economic Times Startup Awards 2021
• Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Service Business—Travel 2021 at the Entrepreneur Awards 2021. 
• He was also awarded with the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2022

FAQ

Who is the owner of ixigo?

The owners of ixigo are Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar, who co-founded the company.

Is ixigo profitable?

Yes, ixigo is profitable. It achieved profitability in recent years, driven by its focus on cost-efficiency and growth in the travel tech sector.

How old is ixigo?

ixigo was founded in 2007, making it 17 years old as of 2024.