Group travel startup Launchtrip raises $3.8M pre-seed round

Launchtrip, a startup creating a solution for group trip planning, has raised $3.8 million in a pre-seed investment round led by Axis Capital.

Launchtrip plans to offer its app in beta beginning this summer. The product enables groups of travelers to find and book accommodations and restaurants and then split the costs within the app and website.

The startup says it will launch with more than 200,000 hotels in seven cities around the United States and with Resy as its restaurant booking partner. Later in the year it plans to scale up to offer hotels worldwide as well as group travel discounts and a rewards system.

The company had been piloting an early stage MVP in early 2020, before the onset of the pandemic, and says that generated more than $1 million in sales.

“With every catalyst and problem, there comes growth. The pandemic gave us a podium that didn’t exist before,” says founder and CEO Julian Ing.

“Consumers want travel to come back just as badly as the hospitality space. With travel coming to a near halt, we took the opportunity to refine our product, build better strategies and bolster financing.”