Sabina Chopra, co-founder of Yatra, helped build the travel company into one of India's prominent online travel platforms.
Sabina Chopra co-founded Yatra in 2006 and helped build its corporate travel business. Explore her career, leadership, Yatra’s growth and strategy.
Written by TFN Research Desk | covering startups, technology, venture capital, and business strategy.
Table of Contents
- Who is Sabina Chopra?
- Early Life and Education
- Career Before Yatra
- How Yatra Started
- Funding History
- Revenue Growth and Recent Developments
- Public Recognition
- Yatra vs Competitors
- Investor Perspective
- Founder Timeline
- Key Takeaways
- FAQs
- The Take Nobody In The Industry Wants To Say Out Loud
- Sources
- SEO Metadata Block
Who is Sabina Chopra?
Sabina Chopra is the Co-founder and COO-Corporate of Yatra, one of India’s established online travel companies. She co-founded Yatra in 2006 with Dhruv Shringi and Manish Amin and currently oversees the company’s corporate hotel business, sales, fulfilment and after-sales support. Her career in travel operations and online booking helped shape Yatra’s corporate travel capabilities.
Early Life and Education
Chopra holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Delhi University. Her professional career has been closely connected to travel, customer operations and service delivery, areas that later became central to her role at Yatra.
Rather than coming into entrepreneurship purely from a technology background, Chopra developed expertise through years of managing travel operations, customer service and sales. That operational experience became particularly relevant as Yatra expanded its corporate travel business.
Career Before Yatra
Before co-founding Yatra, Chopra headed India-based operations for ebookers, a European online travel company. Her responsibilities included customer service, sales, air ticketing, hotel sales, email operations and online departments. Under her leadership, ebookers’ sales teams doubled their targets in less than six months, according to Yatra’s official profile.
Earlier in her career, she worked with Japan Airlines, a Canadian airline, RAC, part of Aviva, and Hewitt Associates. These roles gave her experience across airline operations, business process management, customer service and travel support.
By the time Yatra was founded, Chopra already had substantial operational experience in the travel industry.
How Yatra Started
Yatra was founded in 2006 by Chopra, Dhruv Shringi and Manish Amin. The company entered India’s online travel market at a time when internet-based bookings were still developing and consumers were gradually moving from traditional travel agents toward digital platforms.
Yatra initially provided travel information, pricing and booking facilities across areas including flights, hotels, railways, buses and car rentals.
Chopra’s operational expertise became particularly useful as the company expanded its corporate travel offering. Her current responsibilities include managing corporate hotel sales, fulfilment and after-sales support, as well as expanding Yatra’s corporate clientele.
The corporate segment eventually became one of Yatra’s important strategic areas, giving the company a business beyond individual leisure travellers.
Funding History
| Round | Year | Amount | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Funding | 2006 | Not publicly disclosed | Reliance Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, TV18 |
| Growth Funding | 2011 | ₹200 crore | Valiant Capital Management, Norwest Venture Partners, Intel Capital |
| Nasdaq Listing | 2016 | More than $92.5 million | Public and institutional investors |
Yatra raised ₹200 crore in 2011 from Valiant Capital Management, Norwest Venture Partners and Intel Capital to support growth across sales, marketing, hotels, holidays and acquisitions.
The company later completed its Nasdaq listing transaction in December 2016, raising more than $92.5 million in primary capital.
Revenue Growth and Recent Developments
| Fiscal Year | Revenue | Profit/Loss |
|---|---|---|
| FY25 | ₹795.7 crore | ₹2.4 crore profit |
| FY26 | ₹1,007.4 crore | ₹6.6 crore loss |
Yatra reported revenue of approximately ₹795.7 crore in FY25 and moved from a loss in FY24 to a profit of approximately ₹2.4 crore.
FY26 brought further revenue growth, with annual revenue reaching approximately ₹1,007.4 crore. However, the company reported a loss of approximately ₹6.6 crore for the year.
The business continues to focus heavily on corporate travel. As of August 2026, Yatra described itself as India’s leading corporate travel services provider, with more than 1,340 large corporate customers. The company also had approximately 81,500 hotels and homestays contracted across around 1,550 Indian cities.
Public Recognition
Chopra was recognised at the Women Leaders in India Awards 2010 in the Travel & Tourism category. Her career has largely been defined by operational leadership rather than celebrity-style founder visibility.
Her current position at Yatra reflects that same focus. She is responsible for the systems, sales and fulfilment that keep the company’s corporate hotel business functioning at scale.
Yatra vs Competitors
| Company | Founded | Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| Yatra | 2006 | Corporate and online travel |
| MakeMyTrip | 2000 | Full-service online travel |
| EaseMyTrip | 2008 | Online travel and transparent pricing |
| ixigo | 2007 | Travel booking and transport |
Yatra’s strongest differentiation is its corporate travel business. While competitors such as MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and ixigo have significant consumer-facing operations, Yatra has developed a strong presence among corporate customers and business travellers.
That positioning also gives Yatra a different revenue mix and customer relationship compared with platforms focused primarily on leisure bookings.
Investor Perspective
Chopra’s strongest qualification is operational depth. She entered Yatra with experience across online travel, airline ticketing, hotels, customer service and sales, rather than learning those functions after the company was already established.
That experience matters because corporate travel is operationally demanding. Large customers expect reliable fulfilment, responsive support and consistent service across bookings and changes.
Yatra’s corporate customer base provides a significant opportunity, particularly as Indian business travel continues to expand. The company also operates across hotels, holidays, buses, trains and other travel services.
The risk is that strong booking volumes do not automatically translate into strong profitability. Yatra’s FY26 numbers show that revenue growth can coexist with a bottom-line loss. The company therefore needs to improve margins while continuing to compete against much larger travel platforms.
Founder Timeline
- Before 2006: Builds experience across Japan Airlines, a Canadian airline, RAC and Hewitt Associates.
- Before 2006: Heads India-based operations for ebookers.
- 2006: Co-founds Yatra with Dhruv Shringi and Manish Amin.
- 2006 onward: Helps build Yatra’s travel operations and corporate business.
- 2010: Receives recognition at the Women Leaders in India Awards.
- 2016: Yatra completes its Nasdaq listing.
- 2023: Yatra lists on the NSE and BSE.
- 2025: Continues leading Yatra’s corporate hotel operations as Co-Founder and COO-Corporate.
- 2026: Yatra continues expanding its corporate travel and hotel business.
Key Takeaways
- Sabina Chopra co-founded Yatra in 2006 with Dhruv Shringi and Manish Amin.
- She previously headed India operations for ebookers.
- Her expertise spans travel operations, customer service, sales, air ticketing and hotels.
- She currently serves as Co-Founder and COO-Corporate at Yatra.
- Her focus remains heavily connected to Yatra’s corporate hotel business and customer operations.
FAQs
Who founded Yatra?
Sabina Chopra, Dhruv Shringi and Manish Amin co-founded Yatra in 2006.
What is Sabina Chopra’s current role?
She is Co-Founder and COO-Corporate at Yatra.
What does Sabina Chopra manage at Yatra?
She manages corporate hotel sales, fulfilment, after-sales support and expansion of Yatra’s corporate clientele.
Where did Sabina Chopra study?
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Delhi University.
What did Sabina Chopra do before Yatra?
She headed India-based operations for ebookers and previously worked with Japan Airlines, a Canadian airline, RAC and Hewitt Associates.
When was Yatra founded?
Yatra was founded in 2006.
When did Yatra go public?
Yatra completed its Nasdaq listing in 2016 and later listed on the NSE and BSE in 2023.
Is Yatra profitable?
Yatra reported a small profit in FY25 but a loss of approximately ₹6.6 crore in FY26.
What is Sabina Chopra’s net worth?
Her current personal net worth is not publicly disclosed.
What makes Sabina Chopra important to Yatra?
Her extensive experience in travel operations and corporate hotel services has made her an important part of Yatra’s corporate travel business.
Sources
- Yatra, Official Leadership Team
Yatra Leadership Team - Yatra, Sabina Chopra Profile
Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder & COO-Corporate - Yatra, FY26 Financial Results
Yatra FY26 Results - Yatra, FY27 Corporate Travel Update
Yatra Q1 FY27 Update - Yatra, Investor Relations and Financial Information
Yatra Investor Relations - Yatra, FY26 Results and Corporate Travel Business
Yatra FY26 Corporate Travel Results
© The Founder Nation | All rights reserved | Written by TFN Research Desk
