Software tips

Four travel tech startups raised $121.3 million this week. 

Two travel tech startups raised $31.6 million this week. 

Three travel tech startups have raised $13.3 million in venture capital this week.

Mondee has been going through a lot of changes over the last year, and the numbers shared during its latest earnings call reflect that.

Despite all the hype around what generative AI could mean for the travel industry, the online travel agencies seem to be in agreement — there is potential, but there’s a lot of work to be done first. 

Travelsoft, a company that offers software products focused on travel bookings, has added a third brand to its portfolio.

Adam Harris, the CEO of hotel management software company Cloudbeds, has a great no-nonsense grasp of the macro – and micro – environment in the startup fundraising world, a fact that I learned in a few back and forth LinkedIn messages and subsequent calls between us gossiping about the travel tech startups that were raising money or got sold for pennies on the dollar in the last few months.

Four travel tech startups raised $29 million in venture capital this week. 

There are so many startups and other companies developing products powered by generative AI that it’s hard to keep track. 

The startup Heygo generated millions of dollars in income for tour guides during a time when their normal business was nonexistent. 

Peakwork, a software company that develops distribution systems for travel companies, said Friday that it has been acquired by Constellation Software.

The hotel tech startup Mews is further expanding into North America with the completion of its sixth acquisition.

Hilton is outsourcing its property management system to the tech company HotelKey, replacing legacy systems at all 7,000 of the hotels under its brand. 

The ground transport sector is behind the times: Many bus and train companies operate without a modern ticketing or operations system, sometimes tracking sales on spreadsheets and often forcing customers to carry paper tickets. 

When OpenAI released ChatGPT last November, there were a few companies that released tools right away or even shared plans to do so.  

Exactly one year since it went public, Mondee has released an updated version of its travel booking platform to include a mobile app and a generative AI chatbot. 

Infare, a Denmark-based provider of airfare data and analysis software, has been acquired.