Brazil-based Onfly, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2022 that provides corporate travel expense management technology, has raised $40 million.
Onfly will use the funding for artificial intelligence integration, marketing and sales efforts and international growth. The company plans to onboard 2,500 clients in Mexico by 2027.
Tidemark led the Series B funding round, and Endeavor Catalyst and Left Lane Capital also participated after leading Onfly’s Series A round with Cloud9 Capital.
Onfly is also adding Drew Patterson, a Tidemark venture partner, to its board as part of this funding round. Patterson is the former vice president of marketing at Kayak and former CEO and co-founder of Jetsetter, which was acquired by Tripadvisor in 2013.
According to Marcelo Linhares, co-founder and CEO of Onfly, the funding marks a milestone for the company and the start of a new chapter.
“Corporate travel and expense management in Latin America is a massive industry undergoing rapid digital transformation,” Linhares said in a release. “In 2023, the sector generated nearly $50 billion in the region, according to GBTA [Global Business Travel Association]. Most players have been around for over 40 years and operate as service-oriented businesses with minimal technology adoption. Today's workforce expects the same seamless, intuitive experience from corporate software that they get from consumer apps."
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Onfly, founded in 2018, aims to streamline and digitize corporate travel and expense management, allowing clients' employees to submit expense reports and book flights, buses, hotels, rental cars and short-term rentals for corporate travel.
Onfly’s platform offers auditable data in real-time and enterprise resource planning integrations. In 2022, it also launched a corporate card, which Onfly said is used by 65% of customers. In the release, the company said it now works with more than 2,000 businesses such as Vivara, Vtex and Hotmart.
"The traditional corporate travel agency model is heavily reliant on human services. Our technology digitizes much of the manual booking and post-sale processes," Linhares said. "Some of our clients have transitioned from 90% offline bookings to 90% online bookings, drastically improving productivity and efficiency.”
Dave Yuan, founder and partner at Tidemark, said corporate travel is antiquated and plagued by clunky systems and pricing challenges, among other issues. He said he believes Onfly is creating positive change.
"They're creating a magical flywheel in corporate travel: lower costs for businesses, a smoother experience for travelers and more valuable customers for suppliers,” Yuan said. “We've seen this kind of shift before in other industries—category leaders don't just adapt the old way, they completely redefine it. Onfly is doing just that, and we're excited to be part of their journey to reshape corporate travel in Latam."