“We weren’t just building a business; we were betting on India’s digital future.”
That one line from Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, encapsulates a journey that has defined—and often led—the transformation of Indian travel over the last 25 years.
As MakeMyTrip celebrates a quarter-century milestone, Magow is far from dwelling on past successes. Instead, he’s focused on what’s next. And for him, what’s next is nothing short of revolutionary.
“This is our smartphone moment,” he says, speaking about the explosion of Artificial Intelligence and its place in the travel industry. AI, he believes, isn’t a distant future—it’s here, and it’s deeply personal.
“We’re investing in modifying existing large language models with our own travel data.”
Magow’s confidence is not arrogance—it’s grounded in resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic was a brutal test, but also a moment of introspection.
“COVID taught us resilience and agility. We didn’t just bounce back—we reinvented ourselves.”
That reinvention is now powering a sharper, more intuitive MakeMyTrip—one that’s built not just to survive disruption, but to lead it. For Magow, the biggest threat isn’t competition. It’s complacency.
“We’re not losing sleep over competition,” he says with a calm smile. “We should lose sleep over our own strategy and execution.”
His approach is a masterclass in leadership: stay paranoid, stay agile, and never stop innovating.
“We’ve stayed paranoid because complacency is the enemy in a fast-growing market.”
Despite decades of leadership and innovation, Magow remains relentlessly forward-looking.
“We’re just getting started.”
He means it—not as a cliché, but as a mission statement.
Even as the platform scales, the heart of the business remains the traveller. Every product update, every algorithm tweak, every partnership—it’s all designed to serve one purpose: creating better travel experiences.
“Our commitment remains stronger than ever—to push boundaries, drive innovation, and create even more enriching travel experiences.”
And perhaps that’s what defines Rajesh Magow—not just as a business leader, but as a visionary. A man who didn’t just chase growth but helped shape how a billion people dream, plan, and journey across the world.
