Skift Take
— Justin Dawes
It’s been a busy time for travel startups – 17 of them announced fundraises totaling over $317 million in the past three weeks.
There’s a lot of variety in the areas these companies are working in: flying taxis, skiing tours, renewable jet fuel, loyalty, pest control, luggage, and a new travel media brand.
Four the startups raised over $30 million, and two of those topped $90 million.
Eve Air Mobility, which is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has raised $94 million in equity financing. Investors included Embraer, Nidec, and others.
The company has now raised $466 million since it went public in 2022.
Florida-based Eve Air Mobility, a spinoff of aerospace company Embraer, said it is completing assembly of its first prototype ahead of a testing campaign. The aircraft carries four passengers and can complete flights of up to 60 miles, designed as a flying taxi for urban areas.
The startup said it has letters of intent for the purchase of 2,900 aircraft.
The company is also developing software for urban air traffic management, along with other ancillary services.
Fetcherr, which offers AI-driven price setting tech for airlines, has raised $90 million in series B funding.
Of the total, $25 million came from primary investors, and the remainder came from secondary investors. Fetcherr’s total funding to date is $115 million.
Battery Ventures led the round, with participation from all existing investors.
Civitatis, a marketplace for tours and activities targeting Spanish and Latin American travelers, has raised $50 million from investment firm Vitruvian Partners.
Vitruvian invested about $109 million in Civitatis in 2022. This time, the firm is buying secondary shares from other shareholders.
The funding will go toward expansion in Latin America, including hiring for those areas.
Aether Fuels, which is developing a renewable jet fuel, has raised $34 million in series A funding.
AP Ventures led the round, with support from Chevron Technology Ventures, CDP Venture Capital, Zeon Ventures, Xora Innovation, TechEnergy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Foothill Ventures, JetBlue Ventures.
Chicago-based Aether Fuels says it can convert a number of waste materials into jet fuel. The startup licenses tech from GTI Energy, a tech development company focused on the next-generation energy industry.
The funding will go toward accelerating commercialization, tech for scaling, research and development infrastructure, and constructing a test production plant.
Travel Wallet, an app for exchanging currencies, has raised $10 million.
Lightspeed led the round, its first investment in a Korean company.
Seoul-based Travel Wallet said its app supports exchange and payments in 46 currencies based on real-time rates.
The startup said it had completed more than 5 million transactions in South Korea as of April 2024. Now, the company is expanding in the U.S. and Japan.
Heidi, a tour operator for ski destinations, has raised $7.1 million (£5.6 million).
Mercia Ventures led the round, with support from Active Partners and a group of private investors.
UK-based Heidi says it specializes in ski vacations with customizable booking options. Users can choose from more than 400 ski resorts in multiple countries, with all trips starting at a UK or Ireland airport. Users can filter for options like quantity of snow or proximity to the slope, as well as purchase extras like lift passes. The site also enables group bookings.
The company said its revenue has grown from £8.8 million in 2022 to £37 million in 2024, and it booked more than 34,000 passengers in the last season.
The funding will go toward enhancing the platform and hiring.
Marketboomer, a platform that hotel companies can use to order supplies, has raised $4.9 million.
Salter Brothers Tech Fund led the round in exchange for a 20% stake in the business.
Sydney-based Marketboomer allows hotels to source supplies from 20,000 suppliers and complete purchases digitally.
Clients include hotels by IHG, Accor, Marriott, Capella, and Qantas, as well as some owned by the Salter Hotel Group.
The funding will go toward increasing business in Australia and expanding into Southeast Asia and the UK.
Valpas, which provides pest control tech for hotels and rentals, has raised $4.3 million (€4 million) in seed funding.
Zenith VC led the round, with support from Icebreaker VC, Finnish Industry Investment, Canon Marketing Japan MIRAI Fund, Activum SG Ventures, Houghton Street Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, and Morrow Ventures.
The product is a leg that screws into the underside of the bed. The startup says that the legs attract and trap bed bugs before they can multiply. A connected software platform then notifies hotel staff when bags are captured. A holding container then slides in and out of the device.
The product is in more than 300 hotels, including brands by Accor Hotels, The Luxury Collection, Design Hotels, ARP-Hansen, and Bob W, the startup said.
The funding will go toward increasing production as well as establishing partnerships with booking agents that can disclose to travelers which hotels use the Valpas product.
Lost iN, a travel media publisher for consumers, has raised $4 million in seed funding.
MaC Venture Capital led the round, with support from BDMI, Pitbull Ventures, Hawke Media founder Erik Huberman, Kevin Gould of Kombo Ventures, Matthew Rutler, and other indivual investors.
California-based Lost iN owns 25 travel guidebooks, and the company plans to build ad-supported video and editorial content, along with launching events and a membership program.
Three execs behind Jukin Media — a digital video company that was acquired in 2021 by the parent company of Reader’s Digest — recently purchased Lost iN and its guidebooks with plans to establish a fuller digital media brand.
Otamiser, which helps hotels and rentals boost visibility on booking websites, has raised $3 million.
Pitchdrive led the round, with support from a group of angel investors.
The Belgium-based startup said its products are meant to improve visibility of client listings on third-party booking sites like Booking.com and Airbnb. Products include a tool to improve listing titles and descriptions so that listing are ranked higher in search results, as well as a tool that regularly adjusts pricing based on various factors.
The funding will go toward expanding business and hiring.
Chexy, a platform that allows users to gain travel loyalty points by paying rent, has raised $3 million ($4.1 million Canadian dollars.)
Venrex led the round, with support from Crossbeam Ventures, Groundbreak Ventures, Antler Global, and a group of angel investors.
Canada-based Chexy allows users to pay rent with a credit card. Chexy partners with multiple travel-focused credit cards so that users can exchange points for various travel products. Or, users can transfer the points to several travel loyalty programs, including: Aeroplan by Air Canada, Avios (British Airways and Qatar Airways), Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors.
HopSkip, a booking platform for event planners, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Conductive Ventures.
Philadelphia-based HopSkip says it streamlines the process of sourcing and booking business events, conferences, and meetings at hotels. It includes a database of venues that event planners can select and book, rather than having to complete the process manually.
Hotel partners include Marriott, Loews, and Hilton. The company said it has worked with events planners from Progressive Insurance and the American Association of Cancer Research.
The funding will go toward enhancing the tech platform, expanding the venue database, growing business, and marketing efforts.
Heymax.ai, a shopping platform through which users can earn loyalty points, has raised $2.6 million in seed funding.
January Capital led the round, with support from Tenity, Ascend Angels, XA Network, and a group of angel investors.
The Singapore-based startup allows users to earn loyalty points from more than 500 merchants and 25 airline and hotel partners. They can then exchange those points for any commercial flight on any airline, or they can be transferred to more than 25 airline and hotel rewards programs, the startup said.
The Heymax.ai points are in addition to any points that the user’s credit card company offers.
The app also offers products for personal finance and determining which of a user’s credit cards are best for any given purchase.
The funding will go toward expanding in the Asia-Pacific region, including the recent addition of Australia.
FlyNava Technologies, which provides AI-driven airline pricing software, has raised $2.5 million in pre-series A funding led by Ideaspring Capital.
The products by Dubai-based FlyNava are meant to help airlines set prices based on real-time information and manage e-commerce operations including payments and marketing.
The funding will go toward upgrading the tech, adding new products, and expanding business.
Estuaire, a data analytics platform meant to help the aviation industry reduce environmental impact, has raised $2.4 million (€2.2 million) in seed funding.
Satgana led the round, with support from Safran Corporate Ventures, XAnge, and AFI Ventures.
The Paris-based Estuaire platform is meant to analyze every aspect of flight operations — including flight trajectories, weather, and passenger data — to help make them more energy efficient. Services also include guides around reducing contrails, the clouds that can form behind airplanes and create a stronger greenhouse effect.
Clients include Daher, Vueling, SkyAlps, and Nordic Aviation Capital.
The funding will support platform development and hiring.
Eume, a luggage maker, has raised $1.8 million (150 million Indian rupees).
Investor Ashish Kacholia led the round.
Mumbai-based Eume offers travel products including suitcases, backpacks, vegan handbags, and accessories.
The startup plans to open its first store this year in Mumbai. The funding will also go toward hiring, marketing, and more.
Directo, an online tool that helps users book directly with hotels and short-term rentals, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding.
The investment came from Kima Ventures, Calafia, Derive Ventures, and a group of 26 angel investors.
Spain-based Directo is a Google Chrome extension meant to show travelers when they have the option to book directly with a lodging provider. Users being with a search on Airbnb, Booking.com, or another site as normal. If the extension sees a match with a property’s own website, it presents a link along with what the cost savings would be for booking directly.
The beta version of the tool has more than 100,000 users, the startup said.
| Company | Stage | Lead | Raise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eve Air Mobility | Equity | Unspecified | $94 million |
| Fetcherr | Series B | Battery Ventures | $90 million |
| Civitatis | Unspecified | Vitruvian Partners | $50 million |
| Aether Fuels | Series A | AP Ventures | $34 million |
| Travel Wallet | Unspecified | Lightspeed | $10 million |
| Heidi | Unspecified | Mercia Ventures | $7.1 million |
| Marketboomer | Unspecified | Salter Brothers Tech Fund | $4.9 million |
| Valpas | Seed | Zenith VC | $4.3 million |
| Lost iN | Seed | MaC Venture Capital | $4 million |
| Otamiser | Unspecified | Pitchdrive | $3 million |
| Chexy | Unspecified | Venrex | $3 million |
| HopSkip | Seed | Conductive Ventures | $3 million |
| Heymax.ai | Seed | January Capital | $2.6 million |
| FlyNava Technologies | Pre-Series A | Ideaspring Capital | $2.5 million |
| Estuaire | Seed | Satgana | $2.4 million |
| Eume | Unspecified | Ashish Kacholia | $1.8 million |
| Directo | Pre-Seed | Unspecified | $1 million |
Skift Cheat Sheet
Seed capital is money used to start a business, often led by angel investors and friends or family.
Series A financing is typically drawn from venture capitalists. The round aims to help a startup’s founders make sure that their product is something that customers truly want to buy.
Series B financing is mainly about venture capitalist firms helping a company grow faster. These fundraising rounds can assist in recruiting skilled workers and developing cost-effective marketing.
Series C financing is ordinarily about helping a company expand, such as through acquisitions. In addition to VCs, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.
Series D, E, and, beyond These mainly mature businesses and the funding round may help a company prepare to go public or be acquired. A variety of types of private investors might participate.
Photo Credit: Pictured: An Eve Air Mobility aircraft flies overhead.
