Ancillary travel product marketplace TripAdd has acquired AI travel assistant Eddy Travels to expand its marketplace and grow revenue with the B2B Eddy chatbot services. The deal is a multi-million share merger, but the companies did not disclose the exact price. TripAdd is headquartered in New York and operates in 10 countries.
Eddy Travels says it has raised €1.5 million in funding to date, following €600,000 in pre-seed funding in April 2020. More than four million users have engaged with the chatbot to find flights, hotels, apartments and tours and activities from platforms such as Skyscanner, Booking.com and GetYourGuide, according to the Lithuania-based company.
TripAdd already uses an AI system for its recommendations, making the acquisition “a seamless transition,” says CEO of Eddy Travels Edmundas Balčikonis.
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“TripAdd is growing in the global travel market and requires an automated omnichannel solution for marketing and sales operations. This is where our state-of-the-art AI chatbot solution will play a key role,” Balčikonis says.
“AI technology is a hot topic in the travel industry since legacy travel distribution systems are being upgraded to new generation technology, and TripAdd will be one of the leaders in the space.”
Companies use TripAdd to add ancillary travel products to their platforms and generate extra revenue through sales of personalized bundles.
TripAdd says it views the addition of Eddy Travels as a strategic move that will help it scale for the post-pandemic surge in travel.
“We were impressed with Eddy Travels’ team and technology from the first meeting,” says Gabriel Menkin, TripAdd’s co-founder and CEO.
Read more about Eddy Travels in PhocusWire’s Startup Stage Q&A with the company.