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Klook, an online agency selling travel experiences, said Tuesday it had secured $100 million in funding led by private equity firm and frequent travel sector investor Vitruvian Partners, bringing its total funds raised to over $1 billion.
Klook has positioned itself as a go-to platform for booking local experiences, attractions, and travel services across Asia Pacific.
Founded in 2014, Klook has built a network of 2,700 destinations globally. The online travel agency is best known for selling travel experiences, such as walking tours, but it has been expanding in a super-app like model to include other services, such as hotels, local trains (like Japan’s Shinkansen), and car rentals.
The fresh capital will support Klook’s artificial intelligence initiatives, such as for enhancing merchant operations, through an expanded partnership with Google Cloud.Klook also works with regional tourism boards on digital transformation, including a recent agreement with the Philippine Department of Tourism.
Vitruvian’s Interest
Vitruvian gains an equity stake in Klook with this deal. Sophie Bower-Straziota, a partner at Vitruvian Partners, said in a statement that the firm was attracted to Klook’s “track record of innovation” and its position to lead the transformation of travel experiences in Asia Pacific.
Vitruvian, which manages about $20 billion in active funds, has shown previous interest in the travel sector. Since the pandemic, it has invested over $150 million in Civitatis, an online marketplace for tours and activities that mainly serves travelers from Spain and Latin America.
Vitruvian’s most famous travel sector investment was in 2016 when it was a key investor in a $192 million funding round for Skyscanner, a price-comparison site. Later that year, Skyscanner was bought by the China-based Trip.com Group, formerly known as Ctrip, for $1.74 billion.
Vitruvian also has a large stake in Sykes, the manager of more than 17,500 vacation rental properties across the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Klook’s existing backers include international investors such as Softbank and regional corporate investment arms.
