Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Ixigo’s Rajnish Kumar Recalls Crises, Exit Deal and Founder Lessons
Rajnish Kumar helped start ixigo, a company that helps people plan and book travel.
He says the company nearly ran out of money during the 2008 financial crisis.
Ixigo also struggled when COVID-19 caused travel bookings to fall to zero.
The founders once had a chance to sell the company, but they decided to continue building it themselves.
Kumar says having a purpose was more important to them than simply making money.
He wrote a book called Made in Fire to share lessons from ixigo’s difficult moments.
He says founders should be careful when hiring and should not sacrifice their health.
Kumar also believes AI should help companies create better products and develop people’s judgment and creativity.
He created a fund to give early support to student-founded technology startups at IIT Kanpur.
Rajnish Kumar says ixigo faced near-collapse during the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19.
The founders abandoned a potential acquisition after deciding they wanted to keep building ixigo independently.
Kumar’s book, Made in Fire, presents lessons on hiring, resilience, trust, culture and founder health.
He argues companies should use AI to build better products, not only to cut costs.
Kumar launched a Rs 1 crore IIT Kanpur fund for technology-led startups.
- Who
- Rajnish Kumar and his ixigo co-founder, along with ixigo’s employees, investors and young entrepreneurs at IIT Kanpur.
- What
- Kumar discussed ixigo’s financial crises, a rejected acquisition, his book Made in Fire, the use of AI and a new startup fund.
- When
- The company faced major survival threats in 2008 and during COVID-19; the fund launches with the Class of 2026.
- Where
- The discussion was published by Business Today, and the fund was announced at IIT Kanpur.
- Why
- Kumar said he wanted to share hard-earned lessons with future founders and support new technology businesses.
- Book
- Made in Fire, written by Rajnish Kumar.
- 2008 crisis
- Ixigo had only about two or three months of salaries left for a team of around 23 people after its expected funding was disrupted by the Lehman Brothers collapse.
- COVID-19 impact
- Travel bookings fell to zero almost overnight, according to Kumar.
- Acquisition decision
- The founders unwound a potential acquisition, bought back part of their stake and brought in new investors.
- AI position
- Kumar said AI should be used to create fundamentally better products rather than merely as a cost-cutting tool.
- Founder fund
- The Made in Fire Fund is worth Rs 1 crore and will support 10 startups from each graduating batch.
- Funding per startup
- Each selected startup will receive Rs 10 lakh in non-dilutive prototype funding, plus mentorship and business support.