Barcelona-based corporate travel platform TravelPerk has secured $200 million in fresh funding, pushing its valuation to $2.7 billion, according to a report from CNBC. The investment round included participation from Atomico, EQT, and Noteus Partners, along with existing backers such as SoftBank. This marks a significant leap from its $1.4 billion valuation in January 2024 when it raised $104 million.
The SoftBank-backed travel TravelPerk plans to use the funding to boost its growth, strengthen its U.S. presence, and enhance its product offerings with a focus on AI and technology.
In addition to the funding, TravelPerk also announced it has acquired Yokoy, a Swiss spend management platform, to integrate financial services into its platform and create a seamless travel and expense management experience, CNBC reported.
This acquisition adds Sequoia Capital, a Yokoy investor, to TravelPerk’s cap table. Existing investors like General Catalyst, Kinnevik, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Blackstone continue to support the company’s journey.
Founded in 2015 by Avi Meir and Javier Suarez, TravelPerk has transformed the way businesses manage travel. Since its incept a decade ago, its platform has simplified travel management for hundreds of thousands of travelers from major companies like Uber and Transferwise, reducing trip planning time from hours to just 10 minutes and helping businesses cut annual travel expenses by over 20%.
From COVID Pandemic Struggles to a $2.7B Valuation
TravelPerk faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, with revenues plunging in 2020 and 2021 as business travel came to a standstill. Despite this, the company rebounded strongly, with revenue now five times higher than pre-COVID levels.
“Why we are doing so well now is because we had that period where you had to be strong. You had to have a good foundation, you had to be scrappy,” TravelPerk COO Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo told CNBC.
Investor Confidence in a Resilient Market
Atomico’s partner Hillary Ball expressed confidence in TravelPerk, highlighting the $1.5 trillion value of the corporate travel market in 2023, a 6% increase from 2019. She emphasized the growing importance of this sector as businesses prioritize efficient travel management.
TravelPerk’s appeal lies in addressing what EQT’s Carolina Brochado described as an “unmanaged” market. Many small and mid-sized companies still rely on fragmented tools like Booking.com and Expedia for travel needs. “It’s a $200 billion market in the U.S. and Europe, and about half remains unmanaged,” she noted.
Focused on Longevity, Not IPOs
Despite its rapid growth with 1,500 employees, TravelPerk remains focused on long-term sustainability rather than rushing into an IPO.
“There is no plan in the short term for it,” Taunay-Bucalo said. “We want to be here in 100 years … We have this almost unusually long-term view for a tech company. And as a consequence, the way we see the world is a little bit different. We don’t want to do these quick things and then get out.”
AI Innovation and the Yokoy Advantage
The acquisition of Yokoy brings a strong AI team into TravelPerk’s fold, with Yokoy’s CTO Devis Lussi adding expertise from his time at CERN. TravelPerk sees AI as an essential tool to refine its platform but isn’t overly concerned about the rise of “agentic” AI systems like OpenAI’s Operator. “We test everything. If it works, we keep it. If it doesn’t, we move on,” Taunay-Bucalo said.
TravelPerk’s ability to adapt, innovate, and expand has cemented its position as a leader in corporate travel management, making it a company to watch as it shapes the future of this industry.
We first covered TravelPerk in 2018 when the Barcelona-based startup raised $44 million in Series C funding to tackle inefficiencies in the $1.3 trillion business travel market.
TravelPerk raises $200M at $2.7B valuation, acquires Swiss spend management platform Yokoy
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