Concur Technologies has been on a bit of a buying binge lately, gobbling up mobile travel planning service TripIt and Europe’s Etap-On-Line. Now, the company is making a big push into India, announcing a $40 million investment in online travel portal Cleartrip. Cleartrip essentially is India’s version of Kayak. Backed by the likes of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, DVJ, DAG Ventures and Sherpalo Ventures, Cleartrip launched in 2006.
Concur now owns a minority interest in Cleartrip. What’s interesting about the investment and the recent purchase of TripIt is that Concur — historically known for its online service for helping corporations manage travel and entertainment expense planning — appears to be inching closer to a consumer business offering. That could eventually mean closer competition with the likes of Expedia or other online travel giants.
“As a global technology provider, we understand that it’s critical to focus on the local needs of each market in which we operate,” said Concur CEO Steve Singh in a statement. “In partnership with Cleartrip, Concur plans to leverage the synergies of our combined technologies to help us expand our offerings, extend our reach, and make business travel easier for the millions of travelers in India.”
Singh’s family moved from India to the U.S. in the early 1960s.
As we’ve noted before, Concur is one of the Seattle tech community’ s hidden success stories. It now boasts a market value of $2.89 billion, and some have wondered if the company itself might be a potential buyout candidate.
