Skift Take
Paris Hilton is backing a new trip planner that combines AI and social media, shortly after another social media-based travel app announced backing by John Legend.
Travel Startup Funding This Week
Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at [email protected] if you have funding news.
Seven travel tech startups have raised more than $171 million over the past two weeks.
>>Layla, a new generative AI trip planner app, has announced its launch and a seed fundraise of $3.3 million (€3 million).
Investors include Paris Hilton, Booking.com co-founder Andy Phillips, and Skyscanner co-founder Barry Smith. The funding round was led by Firstminute Capital, which was established by Lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman, as well as the fund M13.
Users can access the trip planner chatbot through the Apple and Android apps, or by messaging the Instagram account @justasklayla.
Berlin-based Layla said that the chatbot can deliver a personalized travel plan following a series of prompts and responses. The itinerary could include relevant videos and information about accommodations, flight prices, cultural insights, and weather. The app also enables users to book flights and lodging through Skyscanner and Booking.com.
The startup said the chatbot is informed in part by social media-based travel content, which is where many younger travelers turn to get travel advice.
Layla was created by Jeremy Jauncey, founder of travel media brand Beautiful Destinations, and Saad Saeed, co-founder of European grocery delivery service Flink.
"Travel discovery has been broken for decades," Jauncey said in a statement. “People today get inspired by short-form videos on social media first and foremost, but there is no way to turn this inspiration into a trip. We want to help users discover the perfect places by bridging the gap between social media, planning and booking."
ZeroAvia: $116 MillionZeroAvia, which is developing a hydrogen-electric jet engine, has raised $116 million in