The Global Business Travel Association expects travel spending to exceed pre-pandemic levels of $1.4 trillion this year and reach nearly $1.8 trillion by 2027. Being one of the leading players in this segment, Barcelona-based TravelPerk, a travel management platform has snapped an additional $104 million investment led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, (backed Cato Networks and Go1). The round also saw participation from existing investors – Kinnevik and Felix Capital.
The latest round is an extension of the $115 million Series D1 funding raised in January 2022, led by General Catalyst. Also, Stephen Thorne, Investment Director for SoftBank Investment Advisers will join the TravelPerk Board of Directors. This round took the valuation of the company to $1.4 billion, which is higher than its previous valuation of $1.3 billion.
With this funding, TravelPerk will increase investment into its platform, enhance the customer experience through new inventory capabilities, and launch new business travel services. Also, it will expand product automation through AI. It will also support the company’s further expansion with a particular focus on the European and US markets.
Next-gen corporate AI travel tool
TravelPerk was founded in 2015 by Avi Meir (founder of Hotel Ninjas, acquired by Booking.com), Javier Suarez, and Ron Levin. It offers 24/7 support and consumer-grade design to help businesses better manage their travel needs. The all-in-one platform gives travellers the freedom they want whilst providing companies with the control they need. It is touted to reduce time, money, and hassle for everyone.
TravelPerk is a next-generation travel booking and management platform for corporate travel. It offers one of the world’s largest travel inventories alongside powerful management features and 24/7 travel support. Companies of all sizes can use TravelPerk to effortlessly manage the entire book travel-report process in one single place. Its customer base counts the likes of Revolut, Wise, Redbull, GetYourGuide and Aesop.
The company adopted a no-layoff strategy during the pandemic to retain its high-quality team and completed several acquisitions such as US rival NexTravel and added business travel provider Click Travel in the UK in summer. Also, it acquired Susterra, a travel sustainability firm to make travel as sustainable as possible, calculating the emissions cost of travel and how to offset the resulting carbon footprint.
Avi Meir, CEO and Co-Founder of TravelPerk commented: “This latest investment comes during a time when the winning tech companies are separating from the pack, and it further validates our investors’ commitment to our vision and strategy. We are also incredibly grateful to our team of more than 1200 employees who together enable us to achieve such rapid growth and success. We’ll continue to grow our workforce as we scale our presence across the US and Europe.”
Stephen Thorne, Investment Director for SoftBank Investment Advisers, commented: “Within the enormous global business travel market, SMBs have remained a largely underserved segment. TravelPerk continues to innovate, integrating AI across the product stack to deliver a world-class experience for customers and travelers. We are excited to partner with TravelPerk and support the next stage of growth.”
Akhil Chainwala, Investment Director, Kinnevik commented: “The TravelPerk team has continued to deliver on their ambitious plans, irrespective of an ever-changing external environment. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the company has achieved a ten-fold increase in volumes and rapidly innovated on the product, resulting in improved customer experience and a doubling of monetisation. Most recently, we have been excited to see significant automation efficiencies set a scalable foundation for future growth. Throughout this journey, Avi’s leadership has set the tone for a strong and authentic company culture. We look forward to the next phase of responsible acceleration that this latest investment will unlock.”
