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GetYourGuide Raises $194 Million to Fuel Expansion and Technology Development
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected many businesses, including travel startups, resulting in challenging times for many companies to raise money and maintain their valuations. However, Berlin-based startup GetYourGuide has raised $194 million in funding to be used for fueling expansion into new markets, adding more experiential events, and driving AI and other technology innovations.
The funds were raised through a Series F equity round of $85 million and a revolving credit facility of $109 million. Blue Pool Capital led the equity round, joined by KKR and Temasek, while UniCredit led the credit facility, with participation from BNP Paribas, Citibank, and KfW. The funding has doubled GetYourGuide’s valuation to $2 billion, bucking the trend of many other consumer-oriented startups facing financial struggles.
The Story of GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide started as a simple idea, reinventing outdated guided tours as experiences, which catered to the requirements and interests of younger consumers using smartphones to discover and book them. The idea was a huge success, and investors poured in, leading to a $484 million Series E round of funding led by SoftBank, which closed only a few months before the pandemic hit, resulting in many challenges for the business.
Moving quickly, GetYourGuide laid off 20% of its staff, secured a $133 million convertible note as a backup plan, and paused the business for almost a year before focusing on what they had initially been successful at, human-led group tours. By the end of 2022, the startup began to pick up, and bookings increased to four times what they were in Q1 of 2019, a comparable year of non-Covid normalcy. The startup is now in a great position, with many investors happy to book its route to profitability and follow it regardless.
Fueling Expansion into New Markets
GetYourGuide plans to use most of its Series F proceeds to fuel expansion into new markets. With 75,000 experiences from 16,000 providers displayed at any given time, the startup has plenty of room to grow. By adding more hikes, tours, and other experiential events, the company is expected to attract more travelers globally. The company’s global leader position in the industry is fueled by its deep expertise and market-leading customer-centricity, which has made it the preferred choice of many customers.
Adding More AI and Technology Features
To improve discovery and personalization on the platform, GetYourGuide plans to add more AI and other technology features. A recent ChatGPT integration enables users to initiate a search of GetYourGuide’s catalog by way of natural-language questions. This solves a big pain point for the company, as basic keyword searches are not enough to produce useful search results. While the company is committed to selling human-led group tours, there is massive potential for using AI to get more accurate insights into what users want, helping to improve search results and design better future tours for customers.
FAQs
What is GetYourGuide?
GetYourGuide is a Berlin-based startup that has built a marketplace for finding and booking tourist, travel, and other experiences, featuring some 75,000 experiences from 16,000 providers listed at any given time.
What are GetYourGuide’s plans for the new funds?
The funds will be used to fuel expansion into new markets, add more hikes, tours, and other experiential events, and bring in more AI and other technology to improve discovery and personalization on the platform.
What is the current valuation of GetYourGuide?
The latest funding round has doubled GetYourGuide’s valuation to $2 billion.
How has GetYourGuide navigated the pandemic?
GetYourGuide laid off 20% of its staff, secured a $133 million convertible note as a backup plan, and paused the business for almost a year before focusing on selling human-led group tours, which were their core product. By the end of 2022, the startup began to pick up, and bookings increased to four times what they were in Q1 of 2019, a comparable year of non-Covid normalcy.
What is GetYourGuide’s approach to AI integration?
While the company is committed to selling human-led group tours, they recognize the potential of AI to improve search results and design better future tours for customers. The company recently integrated a ChatGPT to enable users to initiate searches using natural-language questions. Over time, more AI and other technology features are expected to be added to the platform.
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