MakeMyTrip Bets Big on AI, Targets Corporate Travel Growth

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AuthorKavya Nair|Published at:
MakeMyTrip Bets Big on AI, Targets Corporate Travel Growth
Overview

MakeMyTrip's corporate travel division achieved a significant milestone, exceeding $1 billion in gross bookings for calendar year 2025, driven by a strong technology-led approach and strategic expansion into India's unorganized travel segment. Co-founder and Group CEO Rajesh Magow highlighted robust year-over-year enterprise spending growth and strong adoption across diverse industries. The company is intensifying its focus on AI integration, including a recent collaboration with OpenAI, to enhance travel discovery and customer experience, aiming to solidify its leading position in the burgeoning Indian corporate travel market projected to reach $20.8 billion by FY2030.

1. THE SEAMLESS LINK

This performance metric underscores a strategic shift within MakeMyTrip, moving beyond its traditional consumer focus to aggressively capture and redefine the corporate travel sector. The $1 billion booking threshold is not merely a revenue milestone but a testament to the company's evolving technological capabilities and its ability to cater to the nuanced demands of enterprise clients. The integration of advanced AI, coupled with a clear strategy to penetrate the substantial unorganized segment of corporate travel, positions MakeMyTrip for sustained growth and market differentiation.

The Tech-Led Conquest

MakeMyTrip is doubling down on its technology-first proposition, with artificial intelligence at the core of its future strategy. The company's recent tie-up with OpenAI signifies a commitment to deepen AI-led travel discovery, aiming to transition users seamlessly from inspiration to booking. This AI integration, particularly through its 'Myra' interface, facilitates over 50,000 daily conversations across multiple languages and is instrumental in engaging users, especially in Tier-2 and smaller cities where more than 45% of queries originate [36]. This technological push is designed to enhance user engagement and operational efficiency, providing a competitive edge in a market increasingly reliant on intelligent platforms [31]. The company is also expanding services to include forex and visa support for international corporate travelers, further enriching its integrated offering.

Market Share Dominance & Expansion

MakeMyTrip's corporate platforms—Quest2Travel, MyBiz, and Happay—collectively processed over $1 billion in gross bookings in 2025. This achievement is bolstered by a 10% year-on-year increase in enterprise spending among its client base, which spans over 40 lakh corporate employees. Corporate travel now accounts for more than 10% of MakeMyTrip's total gross bookings. The company serves 500 large enterprises, including 150 of the top BSE 500 companies, and 75,000 SMEs [24, 31]. MakeMyTrip employs differentiated strategies: for large enterprises, it focuses on automation, policy management, and self-booking options; for SMEs, it emphasizes cost savings through automation and budget control [24]. This broad adoption spans industries such as banking, automotive, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, and IT services [24]. MakeMyTrip's strategy targets the significant portion of corporate travel spend that remains unorganized, indicating substantial opportunity ahead [24, 31].

Valuation & Competitive Pressures

MakeMyTrip operates with a trailing twelve-month (TTM) P/E ratio that hovers around 113-114, a valuation that suggests significant investor expectations for future growth [2, 10, 20]. This P/E is notably higher than many global competitors like Expedia (24.0x) and TripAdvisor (14.13x), though some domestic competitors like Yatra Online trade at a higher multiple (261.9x) [19, 22]. Despite its dominant market share, exceeding 50% in India's online travel agency (OTA) sector, MakeMyTrip faces intense competition. Rivals such as Ixigo and Cleartrip are locked in a battle for the second position, each investing heavily in technology and AI integration [33]. While MakeMyTrip's Q3 FY26 results showed revenue growth, net profit experienced a sharp decline [9, 15]. This suggests potential margin pressures as the company invests in technology and expands its service offerings.

⚠️ THE FORENSIC BEAR CASE

MakeMyTrip's premium valuation warrants scrutiny, particularly given the historical instances of overvaluation concerns. In February 2025, an InvestingPro model flagged the stock as significantly overvalued at $116.69, predicting a ~46% decline, which largely materialized by January 2026 [26]. This indicates that the market price can detach from intrinsic value, posing a risk to investors buying at current elevated multiples. Recent analyst actions, including Citigroup and B of A Securities lowering price targets in January 2026, reflect caution, despite maintaining 'Buy' ratings [3, 36]. Furthermore, specific operational challenges, such as air supply issues reported by JPMorgan in January 2026 affecting revenue and EBITDA forecasts, highlight vulnerabilities in core segments [35]. The broader market sentiment, influenced by fears of AI disruption impacting technology and travel service providers [15], adds another layer of risk. While MakeMyTrip is expanding its services, the company's profitability has shown signs of strain, with a sharp fall in net profit reported in Q3 FY26 [9, 15]. This raises questions about whether the investment in AI and market expansion can translate into sustainable earnings growth that justifies the current valuation, especially when compared to more conservatively valued peers in the broader travel technology space.

Outlook & Analyst Sentiment

Analysts largely maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus 'Buy' rating and an average price target of approximately $105 to $106.33, suggesting potential upside [4, 11, 12]. The Indian corporate travel market is projected to double to $20.8 billion by FY2030, with a CAGR of 10.1% [24, 31], providing a robust tailwind. MakeMyTrip's strategic investments in AI and its focus on capturing the unorganized travel segment are expected to drive future growth. The company is slated to report its next financial update on May 13, 2026, where investors will look for continued revenue expansion and signs of margin recovery to support its valuation.

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