A Chicago-based startup that’s making a software platform to create seamless travel journeys has raised a new round of funding to help it expand.
Journera, founded in 2016 by Jeffrey Katz, the founder of Orbitz Worldwide, raised $9 million in a Series A venture capital round, the company announced Thursday. Investors in the round include B Capital Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and The Boston Consulting Group.
In addition to the funding news, the startup also revealed that it has established six commercial agreements for use of their platform with American Airlines, Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, United Airlines and an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp.
Journera’s software allows travel-related companies to communicate with each other and provide end-to-end travel journeys for their customers. For example, if an individual’s flight is delayed, the car rental, hotel and dinner reservations would all automatically adjust to the new flight schedule, eliminating the need for the passenger to contact all the parties individually.
Additionally, travelers can use the software to arrange that a hotel room be ready early upon their arrival, or that their luggage be delivered straight to their hotel room instead of them waiting at the airport carousel.
“Travelers want more seamless experiences across every element of their journeys,” said Katz, who in addition to founding Orbitz, also served as the company's chairman, president and CEO. “In the travel sector, the goal of a seamless experience has been constrained by the fragmentation of the industry and the limitations of bespoke relationships between companies in the travel ecosystem. By building a platform with the latest technology, advanced security protocols and a unique permission control architecture, Journera will help the industry deliver the integrated experiences their customers demand.”
The company says the new round of funding will help it grow its tech and business development teams that will help it scale and expand. Journera currently employs 20 people in its River North offices.
“The quality of Journera’s founding team, investors and customers speaks to the deep travel and technology experience of the management team as well as the salience of the platform they have developed,” said Raj Ganguly, a co-founder and partner at B Capital Group. “We are delighted to be involved in what we believe will be a transformational technology for the travel industry.”
