PNN
New Delhi [India], September 8: GydeXP, an AI-driven experiential travel platform founded by IIT Delhi Computer Science alum Aakarshan Saxena, has raised an undisclosed amount in as part of their pre-seed round. The round saw strategic participation from SwiftSeed in partnership with Stay Circle, and the founder of the cloud optimisation startup Xammer.
The round is led by Rukam Sitara for Technology Startups.
GydeXP is building the guest experience layer for hotels called Travel Studio to solve the fragmented post-booking flow in Hospitality.
The eureka moment came amid the controlled chaos of MahaKumbh 2025. As GydeXP's team manually coordinated experiences for over 1,000 guests, a pattern emerged: every WhatsApp conversation was pure gold. A guest asking "yaar, achhi biryani kaha milegi?" became a restaurant booking. A worried "safe transport to ghats?" turned into a cultural tour and a boat snan. Simple questions generated ₹40L+ in revenue.
The insight was clear: this wasn't just customer service, it was revenue creation. But it required humans who understood cultural nuances, local context, and guest psychology. It couldn't scale.
"We were basically call centres," said Aakarshan Saxena, Co-Founder & CEO of GydeXP. "Most hotels are already understaffed & overloaded as is. That's when it hit us, what if we could teach AI to do exactly this?" This was not possible 6 months ago.
GydeXP is digitising the manual magic they perfected at MahaKumbh into AI agents for Hotels & Short-Term Rentals. These aren't generic hotel chatbots or IVR systems, they're culturally-intelligent AI Employees that understand when a guest texts "something special for anniversary" and seamlessly coordinate romantic dining, photography, and transport while capturing commission revenue.
The platform directly connects hotels to their guests via WhatsApp, transforming routine guest interactions into profitable upsells. No apps, no training, no complexity, just intelligent conversations that create memorable moments and drive revenue. These "Agents" facilitate contactless check-ins, handle tasks, provide information, book cabs and can make reservations throughout the city.
For hotels, this eliminates the operational chaos GydeXP witnessed firsthand: missed upsell opportunities, language barriers, and staff overload. For guests, it delivers the same personalised, culturally-aware service that made their MahaKumbh experience unforgettable.
The pre-seed funding will be strategically deployed to accelerate growth across four key areas:
* AI Scale-Up: Deploy cultural intelligence across 100+ hotel properties throughout India and Southeast Asia, and buy more GPUs to fine-tune models
* Experience Marketplace: Build comprehensive partnerships with local cabs & guides, as well as experience providers
* Hotel Integration: Develop seamless connections with major channel managers, property management systems and payment platforms for instant deployment
* Market Leadership: Establish presence in high-value tourism destinations while building strategic partnerships with major hotel chains
As per a McKinsey and Skift report, the global personalised travel and experiences segment is expected to touch $3.1 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 17.8%. In India alone, the total travel and tourism market is estimated to grow to $492 billion by 2028.
Backing from Strategic Players
The round was strengthened by SwiftSeed Ventures, a selective accelerator known for backing early-stage tech startups with funding, community, and GTM acceleration. Founded by Amar Dixit, SwiftSeed operates an invite-only network of engineers, tech leaders, and founders with over 500+ domain experts and 100+ technology partners onboarded.
"At SwiftSeed, we back bold founders solving real problems with technology," said Amar Dixit, Founder of SwiftSeed. "GydeXP aligns with our mission to power the next generation of consumer-tech platforms, and we're excited to support them through both capital and community."
SwiftSeed partnered with StayCircle, a hospitality and travel management company at the forefront of tech-led transformation in the space. StayCircle brings operational expertise, data analytics, and network depth to fuel GydeXP's growth.
"This is more than a financial investment," said Rajesh Choudhary and Ankur Barthwal, Co-Founders of StayCircle. "We see this as a long-term play to support innovation in travel. GydeXP's model is the future of how we explore and connect with the world."
The round also welcomed participation from Jigar Rathore, founder of Xammer, a cloud infrastructure optimisation company. Xammer will support GydeXP in building a robust digital foundation as it scales.
About GydeXP
GydeXP solves the post-booking flow in hospitality by making hotels "smart" using AI agents that understand cultural context, automate guest interactions, and curate authentic local experiences. All of this through the comfort of Voice & Whatsapp.
About SwiftSeed Ventures
SwiftSeed is a founder-first accelerator and strategic investor focused on early-stage tech startups. With a curated network of engineers, operators, and investors, SwiftSeed provides capital, go-to-market expertise, and access to a growing community of 10,000 founders and over 500 partners and advisors. Founded by Amar Dixit, SwiftSeed is known for its deep ecosystem engagement and founder support.
About StayCircle
Stay Circle is a travel management company transforming the way organisations and individuals experience travel. Stay Circle offers end-to-end solutions that optimise costs, ensure convenience, and deliver exceptional service. With 25,000+ global hotel and serviced apartment options, exclusive rates, and 24/7 expert support, Stay Circle makes business and leisure travel seamless, sustainable, and value-driven.
Stay Circle- https://staycircle.in
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