Travel technology company based in San Francisco, Seoul and Singapore attracts VCs to invest in its AI-powered end-to-end travel experience.
South Korean travel tech startup, Globaleur, has raised USD2.5 million in their pre-series A round and recently completed setting up an office in Singapore as part of their expansion plans for Southeast Asia.
David C. Lee and Grace Wang founded Globaleur in 2017. The duo designed the Globaleur engine to leverage AI solutions to solve the issue of the fragmented travel industry by connecting the end-to-end travel experience.
Their vision has attracted renowned VC firms such as SeaX Ventures, Knet Investment Partners, Big Basin Capital, and Primer Sazze based in San Francisco and Seoul.
“There is a mega trend in AI-powered personalisation across multiple industries, including travel. As the industry recovers from COVID, it will catch on to this trend. We decided to invest in Globaleur since it’s one of the first companies to apply such technology to help airlines, hotel chains, TMCs, OTAs, and government-operated tourism boards offer a seamless travel experience to their end users while personalising offers and itineraries for both leisure and business travellers,” said Dr Supachai Kid Parchariyanon, managing partner of SeaX Ventures, co-founder and CEO of RISE.
Globaleur bridges the gap in the travel experience through three key components; pre-flight, in-flight, and in-destination. Globaleur’s AI Personalisation Engine maps out user preferences across the board. From destinations and flights, their interactions with in-flight entertainment systems in the air, to preferences for activities on the ground. Globaleur presents users with a complete overview of their trip for a hyper-personalised traveller experience.
The Korea Tourism Startup Center (KTSC) has been working with Globaleur before their pre-series A round to lay the groundwork for expansion in Singapore. KTSC’s efforts have led to talks between Changi Airport Group and Globaleur. Jang Min Jun, Deputy Director of KTO Singapore, who is in charge of KTSC, says: “Globaleur’s solutions have the potential to improve Singapore’s travel digital infrastructure. KTSC is connecting them with key stakeholders in the industry, and we are excited to be part of their global growth.”
As the global tourism industry is recovering, Globaleur has gained plenty of momentum in the market and is receiving heavy interest from global FSC (full-service carrier) airlines, government-operated tourism boards, airports, hotel chains, and some of the largest commercial banks in the APAC region. Their growth has skyrocketed along with the market recovery and expects to grow their annual recurring revenue by 6x with more than five million active users a month.
“Singapore plays a huge role in our business strategy heading into 2023. KTSC has been a big part of that push, helping us fast-track the discussion with Changi Airport Group by connecting us with the relevant business contacts in Singapore and saving us months in our sales cycle. We foresee our collaboration with Singapore’s travel industry serving as a regional benchmark in the near future,” said David.
Featured image by Joey Kyber on Unsplash.
