CrunchBase, a database of startups, has released an update that makes it easier to explore the investor ecosystem.
The tool now helps to cast more light on intriguing family ties among the major stakeholders, including overlapping investment patterns by major funds -- plus employee migration patterns.
Tnooz dug into its new "Business Graph" to find out any intriguing patterns among travel technology start-ups specifically.
The good news: You now have a much finding precise statistics that can support your intuitions about the travel tech industry.
Investment allies
Here are a couple of examples of how "great minds think alike" when it comes to travel tech investing:
Battery Ventures has co-invested with Accel Partners nine times. They have co-invested in two travel startups in particular: HotelTonight and Duetto Research. That record of coordination might anticipate future alignments.
Founders Fund has co-invested with SV Angel 17 times, including two travel start-ups: Last Guide and Topguest (acquired by Switchfly).
Meanwhile, General Catalyst has enjoyed strong returns on its investments in travel start-ups Kayak (which IPO'ed), ITA Software (which was acquired by Google), and Room 77 (which has enjoyed an acqui-hire deal with Google).
Of possible interest: the database shows General Catalyst's recent travel-themed investments include Trover, YPlan, FlightCar, and (discussed below) Ostrovok.
Brad Gerstner, founder of Altimeter Capital, is a major (though by no means exclusive) investor in travel startups. You can now see the long list of Altimeter's co-investors -- a.k.a., FOB's (Friends of Brad's).
Tracing investor paths
The database lets the curious try to dig up possibly significant employee switches among travel start-ups and funds.
One promising B2B travel start-up is Farelogix. One of its investors -- since 2005 -- is Sandler Capital. The database reveals that one of Sandler Capital's executives, Stuart Mayer, is now a vice president of finance at Insight Venture Partners, whose significant travel start-up investment recently was Hotel Urbano last March.
Another investor connection might be seen on the detail page for Russian travel start-up Ostrovok.ru -- an online booking site that has received $50.6 million in funding since its founding in 2010.
A recent significant round was led by Accel, under the guidance of Jeremiah Daly -- who has since decamped to be a principal at Highland Capital Partners.
That might mean Highland will be more likely to be evaluating Ostrovok in the future. Highland's recent travel investment include GetYourGuide (in its Series A and Series B).
Company-specific searches
You can also do searches of the database that are company-specific, of course.
Tnooz recently profiled Duetto Research, a B2B hospitality tech startup, and CrunchBase's Business Graph shines light on some of the investment patterns behind it.
Fun fact: Three funds that have invested in the much-discussed HotelTonight have also invested in Duetto. (Related note: Three investors in HotelTonight have also invested in Hipmunk.)
Accel, Battery, and Thayer joined with Altimeter in co-investing in Duetto Research.
LOOK FOR YOURSELF: CrunchBase Unleashes The Business Graph