venturelab alumni GetYourGuide raises $50 Million in Series C

KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced on November 13, 2015, that it was leading a $50 million growth equity investment in venturelab alumnus and venture leader USA GetYourGuide, the leading independent online marketplace for discovering and booking travel activities worldwide.

The company’s existing investors, Spark Capital, Highland Capital Partners and Sunstone Capital as well as new investor Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) will join KKR in its round of financing. Going forward, KKR will support GetYourGuide’s global expansion by providing primary capital, operational resources and access to its global network.

Supported by venturelab from the start. And now a global operating company.
Founded in 2009, GetYourGuide is the leading independent online platform for booking travel activities all across the world. The ETH Zurich spin-off was supported early on by venturelab acceleration's programs (in 2007). Its CEO & Co-Founder Johannes Reck is also an alumnus of venturelab's international programs, such as venture leaders USA. He thus flew to Boston in 2010 to take part in an intense entrepreneurial trip where he could dive into the american entrepreneurial scene and meet potential investors and partners as well as local high-tech companies.

GetYourGuide is now operating in the global market for travel activities with an estimated size of $100 billion annually. As the internet’s largest booking platform for travel activities, GetYourGuide offers more than 27,800 attractions, tours and activities in upwards of 2,500 worldwide destinations. From sightseeing and historical tours to sport activities, museums, and event tickets, GetYourGuide provides an extensive assortment. The GetYourGuide website was launched in 2010. The company has offices in Berlin (HQ), Zurich, Paris, London, Barcelona, Dubai and Las Vegas, employing more than 200 people, of which about 180 work in the Berlin headquarters. The company is managed by its co-founders, Johannes Reck and Tao Tao, and backed by travel industry veterans Kees Koolen (former CEO of Booking.com) and Fritz Demopoulos (founder of Qunar.com) as well as leading venture capital firms Spark Capital and Highland Capital Partners. 

About the support of venturelab, Johannes Reck said: "venturelab has supported us a long way, we have now raised more than 90 million.” About the Series C financing round, in the official press release of November 13, 2015, he explained: “Enjoying new experiences is the core of why we travel. However, the way travelers book these travel activities today remains predominantly offline and is fraught with challenges. GetYourGuide enables travelers to search and book travel activities via one single platform which tremendously simplifies the process and saves time. We are raising new capital to enhance our capabilities globally and chose KKR as a differentiated and experienced partner that will help us accelerate our global expansion.”