Paytm Backs Bus Ticketing Firm Infinity With Estimated $1.4M

Paytm parent company One97 Communications has made a strategic investment in the travel software provider Infinity Transoft Solutions, Times of India reported Tuesday (Dec. 3).

Sources close to the development said Paytm backed Infinity with upwards of $1.4 million.

“We are excited to announce our strategic association with Infinity,” said Abhishek Rajan, Paytm senior vice president. “This partnership will help us bolster our payments and ticketing technology solutions for bus operators and enable us to provide a more seamless booking and post-booking experience to our growing base of online bus ticketing customers.”

Paytm started offering online bus tickets in 2015 and now handles over 62,000 routes with more than 2,000 private bus operators. It also handles ticketing for state-run road transport corporations in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and others.

“With this investment, we will be able to rapidly develop travel-focused tech products and expand our footprint pan-India,” said Rajiv Dhamsania, Infinity co-founder and director. “We aim to make bus operator[s] profitable by using artificial intelligence, which will result into better operational efficiency, and better facility will be provided to passengers.”

Founded in 2008 by Bhavesh Gadhethariya, Infinity offers bus operators and cargo and logistics companies technology solutions for fleet operations and inventory management. It also offers real-time vehicle tracking, a travel booking platform and in-bus entertainment through its proprietary MagicBox hardware and software solution.

The Infinity investment aligns with Paytm’s September announcement that it was going to earmark $34.8 million to expand its travel sector. The company said in a press release that the investment would be used to scale its product and technology team, grow its market share in existing travel verticals and launch new business verticals.

Paytm announced last month that it received $1 billion in new funds from Japan’s SoftBank and China’s Alibaba affiliate Ant. The deal values Paytm’s parent company, One97 Communications, at $16 billion.