Tech-powered travel agency Fora has acquired artificial intelligence (AI)-focused data platform Legends for an undisclosed amount.
Fora, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Startup for 2023, said the acquisition “strengthens its commitment to building the travel platform of the future,” combining AI and human touch.
Founded in 2021, Fora allows entrepreneurs to become full-time or part-time travel advisors. Legends, also founded in 2021, is a PhocusWire Hot 25 Startup for 2024 and winner of the 2023 Phocuswright/Web in Travel Global Startup Pitch event.
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Legends’ tech, LegendsDNA, leverages consumer data to provide predictive insights and improve personalization, engagement and revenue growth. The technology will be integrated into the Fora's advisor portal and into new client-facing products “designed to modernize advisor-client interactions.” The company said it will also be integrated into supplier-facing products to improve distribution at scale.
“The power of the Legends product to turn the data we all produce in our phones, in our emails and in our calendars into actionable insight immediately excited the builder in me, envisioning the many ways we could deploy this across our platform,” said Jake Peters, chief product and technology officer and co-founder of Fora.
“We’ve been talking with Legends co-founders, Shaina Shiwarski and Stephanie Daniel, for a few years about how to bring their tech into Fora. Ultimately, it made the most sense to make this part of our core platform—not just an add on.”
Shiwarski will join Fora as vice president of product, and Daniel will join as general manager of Legends and vice president of strategic initiatives.
“We’re thrilled to bring what we built with Legends into Fora,” Shiwarski and Daniel said. “From the start, Legends has been about helping people find trusted recommendations. Joining forces with Fora allows us to bring these tools to a broader community of advisors and travelers who value more personalized travel that’s grounded in community, authenticity and real impact.”