Berlin-based GetYourGuide will ramp up its efforts to add new markets and broader inventory thanks to a huge new funding round - $484 million - announced today.
The Series E round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund and joined by co-investors Temasek, Lakestar and Heartcore Capital, with continued support from existing investors including Swisscanto Invest.
“This funding allows us to take a much longer-term view on the travel experiences space. ... Now we can have a 10- to 20-year time horizon,” says GetYourGuide co-founder and CEO Johannes Reck.
Reck says some of the company’s immediate priorities include aggressive expansion into the Americas and Asia, taking what has been learned from the company’s growth throughout Europe to gain a foothold in these markets.
Product development
Along with geographic expansion, GetYourGuide will use the new capital to continue developing its “GetYourGuide Originals” product that launched in August 2018 in Rome, Paris and London. The program offers branded experiences GetYourGuide has developed in partnership with its top tour operators.
Reck says to date more than 30,000 Originals tickets have been sold, and now they will begin rolling out the program to 25 major metropolitan cities around the world.
GetYourGuide will also look to expand the breadth of its offerings.
GetYourGuide currently has staff in 18 offices around the world – its newest office is in Japan – and Reck says the company will open new locations in the next couple of years.
As part of the investment, SoftBank Investment Advisers partner Ted Fike will join the GetYourGuide board of directors.
GetYourGuide has also added two executives to its staff: Ameet Randive as its first chief product officer and Nils Chrestin as chief financial officer.
Launched in 2009, GetYourGuide’s last funding came in a $75 million Series D round in November 2017, bringing its total to date to $654 million. The company says it has sold more than 25 million tickets for tours and activities through its platform.
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