India | 2nd June 2020: QuaQua, a pioneer in delivering real and immersive virtual travel experiences, today announced that it has secured a funding of USD one million from Anthill Ventures and other existing investors. Founded in 2016 by Purav Shah and Sandesh Reddy, this Hyderabad-based start-up closes its first round of institutional investment. QuaQua becomes the fastest-growing innovative Indian start-up in the content-driven travel-tech space. It integrates VR-enabled travel content, meta-information, community and bookings for every point of interest around the world, including best-in-class travel experiences.
QuaQua will leverage the fund raised to enhance its user experience and build an end-to-end AI- and content-driven travel platform. The platform will cover a customer’s journey from travel inspiration to planning, bookings, travel support and sharing travel memories. The start-up will also expand its booking features, ranging from flights, hotels, transfers, boutique experiences, staycations to personalised packages. The funds will also be used to create content for 125 additional tourist destinations within India through effective storytelling and curating of information.
QuaQua currently has users from 100+ countries and a user base of over 2.5 million. Post the COVID-19 situation, the company has gained increased audience traction as the repeat customers are close to 70 per cent. Despite major travel restrictions for tourists and the fear of COVID-19, people’s fascination to have travel experiences will not fade anytime soon. The company has strategic growth plans to meet travellers’ needs through its products on virtual travel with high audience engagement levels. The content on the QuaQua platform is free for all users with the idea of promoting sustainable tourism.
Purav Shah, the Co-founder and CEO, QuaQua, said, “QuaQua has received over 20 million video views in the last four months with 12 minutes average time spent by a user. Witnessing substantial increase in engagement rates post March, the rise in demand for a content driven end-to-end travel platform has strengthened our conversation with prospective investors and industry experts. While virtual travel is becoming the norm, short trips and staycations will drive demand in the domestic circuit. Our focus for this year thus will be on India specific virtual content and personalized booking experiences. Travel industry needs to evolve and there has never been a more appropriate time to recreate the future.”
Sandesh Reddy, the Co-founder and Head of Finance Strategy, QuaQua, said, “The effective use of funds is always critical for an organisation’s sustenance in the long run. Being the first metasearch in the world for attractions, activities, and events, QuaQua’s focus has been to create super-engaging content and revenue generation. The current investment by Anthill Ventures and other existing partners will help us enhance the platform, launch offline travel experiences, create engaging content, including blogs, itineraries and virtual tours, as well as build an AI-driven travel community.”
Anthill Ventures is a global speed-scaling platform for early-growth-stage start-ups. Anthill primarily focuses on investing in exciting technology start-ups in verticals, such as fin-tech, health-tech, media-tech and urban-tech. So far, the company has invested in over 25 cutting-edge technology start-ups. Anthill Ventures, through its rapid speed scaling, will further drive QuaQua’s growth rate.
Sailesh Sigatapu, Partner, Anthill Ventures, said, “A content-first travel network is a revolutionary change in the industry. We are confident that QuaQua has the DNA to execute this new paradigm and are excited in partnering with them.”
The platform has won numerous accolades in the recent past, such as ‘Top 10 AR/VR Start-ups in 2019’, ‘India’s 10 Best Travel Tech Companies,’ ‘Top 30 CEOs of 2019’, ‘Best Companies for Millennials to Work at’, ‘Best Startup of the Year’ and was recognised under the ‘Start-up India’ scheme by the Government of India.
