German startup Comtravo has received an additional €9 million of funding, taking the total size of its round initially completed in September 2019 to €30 million. M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, and Joop Drechsel joined other investors in the round, to help boost the startup’s expansion.
Additional investors in the round were Endeit Capital, Deutsche Bank, Creandum, Project A, btov, AER Ticket and Jan Valentin as investors in the Series B round. Joop Drechsel, who will be joining the board, is the former CEO of BCD Travel, the second-largest travel management company globally.
Comtravo, founded in 2015, is a booking platform for business travel and is currently used by more than 900 medium-sized businesses in the DACH region. With the help of natural language processing, Comtravo’s software translates text-based requests like emails into structured data and uses AI technologies to offer the best travel options based on saved preferences and previous booking patterns.
Regular requests (e.g., flight and hotel bookings) are already 60% automated, whereas more complex cases (e.g., group bookings) are still being handled by travel experts. This human-machine approach guarantees that processes are as efficient as possible, while at the same time achieving a high service level. “Compared to the processes used in traditional agencies, we see that we already process our bookings 60% faster and therefore also more efficiently,” co-founder Michael Riegel adds.
“Comtravo is disrupting the huge business travel market through deep automation and unique access to travel providers,” said Lior Litwak, Partner at M12. “We were very impressed with the company’s vision of increasing efficiencies for both businesses and travel agents without compromising on high-quality service and traveler experience. We are thrilled to join Michael, Jannik and Marko on their path to position Comtravo as a global leader in business travel innovation.”
In addition to investing in the startup, Joop Drechsel will join the board of Comtravo to guide their long-term strategy. “I am very excited to be part of the Comtravo journey,” says Joop Drechsel. “Given my long history and vast experience in the business travel world, I’ve always been intrigued by the opportunities the SME business segment provides. I believe Comtravo has a uniquely strong combination of cutting-edge technology combined with a human touch”.
