Phanindra Sama is a well known name in the Indian startup ecosystem. While many recognise him as the founder of bus ticketing platform Redbus, not many are aware that he served as the Chief Innovation Officer of the State of Telangana. Phanindra Sama was a student at Birla Institute of Technology and Science. He met Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padmaraju during his graduation and the three later became friends. The trio worked together at various organisations before founding Redbus that currently has a net worth of more than Rs 69850000000. When Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padmaraju planned to start Redbus in 2006, they only had Rs 5 lakh to invest. Among the trio, Phanindra Sama is said to be the key member who got the idea to start the service when he struggled to book a bus ticket to his hometown during a festival season.
In 2013, Redbus was acquired by the Ibibo Group, a joint venture of South Africa's Naspers and China's Tencent, in one of the largest overseas deals in the Indian startup ecosystem at that time. The platform was acquired for Rs 828 crore.
Redbus revolutionized the bus ticketing process in India under Phanindra Sama’s leadership. The platform made it easier, more transparent, and accessible. Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Sama worked as a designer of integrated circuits at Texas Instruments. In 2007, redBus received its first round of funding of 1 million dollars. With support from a few of the biggest investors in the country, Redbus became the market leader within a few years.
Sama continued to be involved with Redbus for a while after the acquisition before he moved on to other ventures. Phanindra Sama has been actively involved in various social initiatives and philanthropy work. He served as the Chief Innovation Officer of the State of Telangana, contributing his expertise to enhance innovation and technology implementation in governance.
