Travel advisor platform Tern has raised $13 million in Series A funding, which will be used for product investments addressing travel advisors' "pain points.”
The funding round was led by Viewpoint Ventures and Haystack VC. Upfront Ventures also participated, having previously led an unannounced $4 million seed round.
“We built Tern to eliminate the invisible work that slows advisors down—the quoting, copy-pasting, tool-switching," said David Shull, CEO of Tern.
This funding gives us the ability to move faster and go deeper, so advisors can spend less time in tools and more time with clients.”
The funding will specifically be used for AI developments, expanded payment capabilities and enhanced tools for both enterprise and host agencies. Tern is investing in “more seamless onboarding and education” and launching seven-day support availability as well.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
Founded in 2023, the startup's integrated platform works to streamline travel advisors' systems and connect them with travelers and suppliers. The platform is now used by more than 5,000 advisors and 1,000 agencies, the company said.
On Thursday, the company also announced a slew of new product features for advisors, including agentic AI, which will “bring in content from any source” to save advisors' time with data entry.
Additionally, Tern is launching one-click invoices, AI destination guides and packing lists, custom branding, “Trip Activity View” to provide an overview of an upcoming trip and activity template folders to keep content organized.
Tern is overhauling its existing form product as well, “allowing advisors to seamlessly collect key traveler information at the same time as they’re sharing trip details.”
“These launches build on Tern’s recent momentum and reinforce the company’s focus on eliminating the invisible work that holds advisors back,” the company said.
"Travel advisors have been overlooked and underserved by technology for years. We backed Tern because we learned how important advisors are in travel. Rather than cut out advisors, Tern celebrates them, and we are all-in on their vision to build the best platform in the world for these critical decision-makers,” said Nick Kim, partner at Upfront Ventures.
“For too long travel advisors have been underserved by technology. While other platforms focus on cutting out the advisor, we’re all-in on building the best platform in the world for them.”