A startup co-founded by University of Virginia alum Steve Huffman (who also co-founded Reddit) announced this week that it has raised $20 million in Series C funding. Dubbed Hipmunk, the comprehensive travel search startup makes finding commercial flights, trains and hotel accommodations visually easier than ever before.
Founded in 2010, the company known for its adorable chipmunk mascot set to take off on an adventure rapidly grew to be a trusted source for booking travel fast and efficiently. It's design is presents users with a visual timeline of flights on a colorful grid, sorting results based on "agony," which, according to Hipmunk, combines price, number of layovers and flight duration.
The hotel search uses a similar sorting method, but rather than focus on "agony," for hotels it's "ecstasy." It takes into account price, hotel ratings and distance to your destination to help you find the best deal on your ideal accommodations.
While Hipmunk was originally known for its travel search, the company's co-founder and CEO Adam Goldstein told TechCrunch that hotels have become its priority. Not only has the hotel search proven more lucrative, but it has also been "growing like a rocketship," he said.
Perhaps this is because Hipmunk has added some new advantageous features as of late, including same-day hotel booking and a more robust array of cross-platform options.
Looking towards the future, Goldstein claims Hipmunk is not done with taking on more verticals to offer users a more comprehensive way to book a trip.
“We’ll add cars [i.e., car rentals] and other stuff, but we’re not done with flight or hotels, either," he said. "We’ll keep … trying to make that experience as low friction as possible.”
The most recent Series C funding round was led by Oak Investment Partners, which has had a great deal of experience in consumer travel. Oak has previously backed Kayak. Existing partners Institutional Venture Partners and Ignition Partners also played a role in the new funding alongside Hipmunk's angel investors.
Now with an extra $20 million under its belt, Hipmunk has just about $40 million to boast of. But, what else would you expect from a startup launched in part by one of the co-founders of Reddit.
