Global travel continues to gain momentum, with the World Travel and Tourism Council predicting that the industry cross $11 trillion in revenue This year. Consumers are evolving in what we call “revenge journey» in the post-COVID-19 years, devoting an increasing share of their budget to a wider range of experiences away from home. Add AI to the mix and we’re now seeing renewed investor interest in startups looking to shake up the landscape with something new.

On board the travel train, based in Berlin Tourlane – an agent-like platform that allows users to plan and budget their trips, bringing together flights, accommodation, activities and tickets – has raised new funding of 25 million euros ($26 million) in hopes of capitalizing on these trends.

The Series D, led by Sequoia Capital, is intended as a bridge to help the company reach profitability, Julian Weselek, CEO and co-founder of Tourlane, told TechCrunch. The startup will also use the funds to expand its technology, double down on AI and potentially expand to more original markets beyond its current bases in France and Germany.

Investing in AI may be the detail that catches your eye. Weselek said the company is introducing generative AI early on in the service to create more intuitive ways to help users navigate options that match what they want.

He added that this would not mean a complete replacement of humans. “Is it possible to develop the technology necessary to provide customers with a fully automated offering? Yes, of course it can be done,” Weselek said. “I think the question is, if you know your wedding depends on this upcoming vacation, do you want (that, or) to have a consultation with someone who has been in the country to sign off on the booking?”

Tourlane is also making a big bet on the back end, where AI will help evaluate the thousands of permutations of flights, accommodations, cars, activities, time of year and other variables to maximize the chances of getting users what they want – and Tourlane as a result, more revenue.

The company, Weselek added, has about 500 employees, about 150 of whom are customer agents. He said that as a “relative number,” that figure is “declining,” relative to the number of clients each agent helps. “They become more efficient.”

Beyond AI, the question of scale is perhaps just as important to Tourlane. Founded in 2015, the startup is now almost ten years old, and as of today, it claims to have booked trips for 100,000 people (each person in a booking counts as an individual).

It’s also serving more customers: Weselek said last year was five times stronger than last year before COVID-19 hit.

Still, relatively speaking, 100,000 is not a huge number. Numbers of the UN estimates that the number of global travelers totaled 790 million in the first seven months of 2024.

And we don’t know exactly what the gain will be for Tourlane. Like traditional travel agents, Tourlane earns a commission on the services it sells, but it does not disclose the amount, instead saying that fees vary depending on different factors and partners.

Still, it’s clearly a gamble that Sequoia Capital believes is worth taking. The venture capital firm is now Tourlane’s largest outside investor.

“This is a unique moment in the history of travel. Through AI, every traveler will have the opportunity to discover the world through personalized, personalized travel experiences,” Andrew Reed, the Sequoia partner who led this investment, said in a statement. “Tourlane is well positioned to delight millions of travelers in the years to come. »

Sequoia is an interesting name to have on the cap table, given the success the famous venture capital firm has had so far in the travel space. Its past investments include Airbnb (one of its first investors, Sequoia became one of the biggest winners during its IPO), Skyscanner (one of Sequoia’s first investments in Europe, now part of Trip.com), Klook and Kayak (now part of Booking), as well as many other small startups in the sector.

Other investors participating in Series D include Target Global (a new backer), Jared Smith (co-founder of Qualtrics), and HV Capital.

Tourlane does not disclose its current valuation, but for context, the last time it raised funds – a $20 million Series C expansion round – it had a valuation of $242 million, the same as its initial Series C of $47 million. The first tranche of this Series C round closed just a few months before the pandemic hit, and the second closed in the middle of it, when Tourlane raised money to hold on until what people are traveling again.

Perhaps because of the roller coaster Tourlane has experienced so far, or because the valuation is modest this time too, Weselek said he does not consider this figure a priority or priority.

“Corporate valuations in the private market are highly volatile and heavily influenced by several external factors that we cannot control, such as the cost of capital, hype cycles and perceived risk levels,” he said. he declared. “What is important for us at the moment is the fact that we have managed to secure funding of 25 million euros from world-class investors, which allows us to take the path to profitability while by investing more in our product, service and growth. If we succeed in achieving our ambitions, we will generate a lot of shareholder value in the years to come.