Hong Kong-based travel activities booking start-up, Klook Travel (Klook), has secured US$5 million in Series A funding led by Matrix Partners, along with China Growth Capital and Francis Leung Pak To.
Matrix Partners is a venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, Beijing and Shanghai; China Growth Capital is one of China’s leading venture capital firms focused on early-stage investment since its establishment in 2006; and Leung is the chairman (China) and managing Partner of CVC Asia Pacific.
The latest financing follows on the back of a US$1.5 million seed capital raised earlier this year led by Wu Xiaoguang of Tencent.
Eric Gnock: New funding used for expanding business.
Eric Gnock Fah, Klook co-founder, said the proceeds from this round of funding would be used to expand the business with a focus on increasing the company’s portfolio of destinations and activities, and enhancing technology.
Additionally, the funds will be used to broaden existing marketing efforts to further increase Klook’s branding and to expand marketing campaigns with partners.
To strengthen its position in Asia Klook is in the process of setting up an office in Singapore to be the regional headquarters for Southeast Asia. It is also planning to establish its on-the-ground presence in other countries.
“Five out of the top 10 most visited cities in the world are in Asia – Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok. As a Hong Kong based start-up Klook is at the epicentre of Asia travel, and is well-positioned to leverage its geographical advantage to transform into a global travel brand,” said Ethan Lin, Klook co-founder.
Gnock added that participation from renowned professional VCs was “a strong vote of confidence for Klook’s team”, and would work with its investors to roll out our pan-Asia strategy.
Klook’s Hong Kong office, to set up regional headquarters for Southeast Asia in Singapore. (Image credit: Klook)
According to Industry experts, 50% of global passenger traffic will be within or from APAC by 2030, up from 37%, with China as one of the main growth drivers.
“The addressable market opportunity is significant and Klook is going after it aggressively,” said Gnock.
In a related development, Klook announced that Wilfred Fan and Shuren Hu have joined Klook as strategic advisors. Fan is vice president and managing director of Agoda, responsible for strategic development and business operations in the North Asia region. Hu is the former vice chairman of the Planning & financial department of China National Tourism Administration.
Klook was founded in mid-2014, and operates in 24 destinations with over 1,200 carefully selected activities. It has a multinational team of over 40 employees across three offices – Hong Kong, Shenzhen (China), and Taipei (Taiwan).
• Klook won WIT Start-Up Pitch held in conjunction with WIT Japan & North Asia, June 4 & 5 in Tokyo.
• Featured image credit: Klook
