Singapore and Berlin-based Gharage Ventures launched its €40 million Fund I to invest in early-stage tech companies in travel and retail, focusing on automation, AI-driven workflows, data infrastructure, and more. The fund, originally founded by Gebr. Heinemann in 2020, is now independent. It plans to invest globally from seed to Series A, backing roughly 30 startups.
Affiliate revenue platform Stay22 has secured a $122 million minority growth investment from Summit Partners. The company plans to invest in infrastructure and partner ecosystem, expand internationally, and grow its team. Summit Partners' Colin Mistele and Daniel Kim joined Stay22's board. Montreal-based Stay22 provides an affiliate monetization platform for travel creators, media publishers, and event organizers, using AI to improve booking and conversion.
Amex GBT announced the successful refinancing and upsizing of its senior secured term loan facility, reducing the borrowing rate by 50 basis points to SOFR plus 2.00%, and increasing the facility by $100 million to $1.486 billion, maturing in July 2031. This enhances financial flexibility to invest in growth, including AI.
PhocusWire released its Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2026, spanning Asia Pacific, the Middle East, the U.K., the U.S. and Latin America. Ten of the class were founded in 2024 or 2025, and at least 60% lean heavily on AI. Phocuswright data shows travel tech funding was $5.8 billion in 2024, up from $5.3 billion in 2023, but is on track to decline again in 2025, standing at $1.1 billion by end-May. Since 2005, Phocuswright has tracked nearly 8,000 companies with over $230 billion in funding.
PhocusWire has released its Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2025, featuring companies from Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, the UK, the US, and India. Despite a slowdown in travel startup funding, these companies continue to reimagine travel processes. About 10 startups use artificial intelligence. According to Phocuswright data, travel startup funding dropped to $5.2 billion in 2023, an almost 10-year low; Q3 2024 funding is at $4.2 billion, on track to match 2023 levels. In 2024, B2B funding overtook B2C for the first time, accounting for 51% of total funding as of Q3 2024.
A SAP Concur blog post aimed at companies that have received new funding recommends digitizing and automating spend management—employee expenses, vendor invoices, and travel costs—to maximize the value of that funding. It says automation can improve business intelligence and actionable insights, help make contingency plans, strengthen working capital, improve spend visibility, and find cost-saving opportunities. It cites data showing roughly 20% of expenses fall out of policy and organizations lose an estimated 5% of revenue to fraud each year, and a 2022 Analysys Mason survey showing companies saw positive ROI within 8 months on average after implementing travel and expense and/or vendor i…
PhocusWire released its list of the Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2023. Of the 25 startups, 14 were founded since the start of 2020, and 9 launched in 2021. PhocusWire selected from more than 120 startups, focusing on innovation and growth potential, and emphasizing diversity in sector, location, and founders. The article also analyzes the 100 companies selected in the past four years, which have cumulatively raised $1.7 billion in funding, with TravelPerk having received the most at $408.5 million. 70% of the companies operate primarily on a B2B basis, 57% are based in North America, and 29% primarily serve the hospitality industry.
PhocusWire and Voyager HQ released the Hot 25 Startups for 2020 list. Highlights from 2019 include Beyond Pricing raising $42.5 million, TravelPerk closing a $104 million Series C with bookings growth over 300%, Lonely Planet acquiring TRILL, LuggageHero merging with Knock Knock City, and OYO raising $1 billion in a Series E. Phocuswright's report shows overall travel startup funding reached $5.7 billion in 2018, up 55% year over year, with 40% going to B2B travel services.