October 2018
The Series A round was subscribed by Indaco Ventures I and Airbridge Equity Partners.
Travel Appeal, the startup specialized in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for professionals in the Travel Industry, has closed a new capital increase worth 3 million euros.
The Series A round was subscribed by Indaco Ventures I, launched last May by Fondazione Cariplo, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento and Intesa Sanpaolo, with a total target size of over €200 million, of which €133 million already subscribed, and by Airbridge Equity Partners.
The new funds will be used for the further development of technology and the acceleration of the internationalization process. Today, the Travel Appeal artificial intelligence solution is implemented by over 4 thousand customers throughout Europe, including hotels, restaurants, museums, retail and entire destinations. Travel Appeal’s goal is to increase the network of users and operates in countries involved in leisure and business tourism, with a diffused presence throughout Europe and in driving markets, such as Dubai. Travel Appeal aims to double the turnover year on year and exceed €25 million by 2021.
“This round marks a decisive stage and allows us to face the challenge of the most mature international markets much quicker with our unique and constantly updated technology”, said Mirko Lalli, CEO of Travel Appeal. “In these four years Travel Appeal has grown exponentially, in the coming months we will be engaged in a tight schedule to impose ourselves as a partner of reference for tourism operators in Europe and beyond.”
“With Travel Appeal, Indaco Ventures I continues to support the development of high- tech companies in markets with growth potential”, says Antonella Beltrame, partner of Indaco Venture Partners Sgr. “The company develops a proprietary business intelligence solution for the travel industry that, through the processing of big data and the use of artificial intelligence, maximizes the performance of hotels and destinations. The synergy between the outstanding know-how in travel industry of the founder and the technological ones of the team, represents an asset. “This investment”, continues Antonella, “has also been achieved thanks to the partnership of Indaco Sgr with growITup, the Open Innovation platform launched by Cariplo Factory – the hub for innovation created by Cariplo Foundation – and by Microsoft Italia”
“The artificial intelligence on which the business model of Travel Appeal is based has and will increasingly have an increasing impact in all sectors, from tourism, health, manufacturing, to the world of finance, so much so that it becomes the strategic priority of many Italian CEOs in the field of digital “- comments Silvia Candiani, CEO of Microsoft Italy. “Through growITup and with the support of Indaco, we are pleased to be able to contribute to the growth and development of Travel Appeal on the international scene: in Italy we need digital startups, which can exploit the cloud, enhance big data and release the benefits of artificial intelligence with maximum security and privacy, so as to intercept better and faster the needs of customers and offer them the best possible experience.
Travel Appeal, founded by Mirko Lalli in 2014 with the help of H-FARM, has developed its own Artificial Intelligence solution that collects and analyzes online travel data in real time, transforming that data into updated and immediately applicable strategies. These strategies are targeted for tourism operators to improve their online positioning and reputation, with a consequent positive impact on turnover and business operations. All this translates into a product designed in different ways of use and with different functionalities. Today the entire Travel Appeal ecosystem (Dashboard, API and App) is able to monitor, every year, the web reputation and digital strategies of over 1 million properties among hotels, restaurants, museums and retail. Travel Appeal has a total of 4 offices, two in Italy – Florence and Treviso – one in Amsterdam and one in London, and employs 30 people.