17 Travel Startups Raise $317 Million Over Three Weeks

13.07.2024 - 05:52 / skift.com / Justin Dawes

It’s been a busy time for travel startups – 17 of them announced fundraises totaling over $317 million in the past three weeks.

There’s a lot of variety in the areas these companies are working in: flying taxis, skiing tours, renewable jet fuel, loyalty, pest control, luggage, and a new travel media brand.

Four the startups raised over $30 million, and two of those topped $90 million.

Eve Air Mobility, which is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has raised $94 million in equity financing. Investors included Embraer, Nidec, and others. 

The company has now raised $466 million since it went public in 2022.

Florida-based Eve Air Mobility, a spinoff of aerospace company Embraer, said it is completing assembly of its first prototype ahead of a testing campaign. The aircraft carries four passengers and can complete flights of up to 60 miles, designed as a flying taxi for urban areas. 

The startup said it has letters of intent for the purchase of 2,900 aircraft.

The company is also developing software for urban air traffic management, along with other ancillary services. 

Fetcherr, which offers AI-driven price setting tech for airlines, has raised $90 million in series B funding.

Of the total, $25 million came from primary investors, and the remainder came from secondary investors. Fetcherr’s total funding to date is $115 million.

Battery Ventures led the round, with participation from all existing investors.

(See Skift’s story.)

Civitatis, a marketplace for tours and activities targeting Spanish and Latin American travelers, has raised $50 million from investment firm Vitruvian Partners.

Vitruvian invested about $109 million in Civitatis in 2022. This time, the firm is buying secondary shares from other shareholders.

The funding will go toward expansion in Latin America, including hiring for those areas.  

(See Skift’s story.)

Aether Fuels, which is developing a renewable jet fuel, has raised $34 million in series A funding. 

AP Ventures led the round, with support from Chevron Technology Ventures, CDP Venture Capital, Zeon Ventures, Xora Innovation, TechEnergy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Foothill Ventures, JetBlue Ventures.

Chicago-based Aether Fuels says it can convert a number of waste materials into jet fuel. The startup licenses tech from GTI Energy, a tech development company focused on the next-generation energy industry. 

The funding will go toward accelerating commercialization, tech for scaling, research and development infrastructure, and constructing a test production plant.

Travel Wallet, an app for exchanging currencies, has raised $10 million. 

Lightspeed led the round, its first investment in a Korean company.

Seoul-based Travel Wallet said its