It seems there is no stopping Klook which will go down in Asia’s travel history as the startup that has raised the most in the shortest time. Today, it announced it has closed $200m in Series D funding, bringing its total financing to date to US$300 million. This latest round makes the in-destination booking platform, founded in 2014, the most-funded company in the tours and activities sector globally. It also says it is on track to hit US$1 billion in bookings this year.
Investors in this round include Sequoia China, Matrix Partners, Goldman Sachs, Boyu Capital, TCV, an Asia-based sovereign wealth fund, OurCrowd, and some family offices. Sequoia China, Matrix Partners and Goldman Sachs also led the Series C in October 2017.
Klook first came to the travel world’s recognition by winning the WiT Startup Pitch in Japan & North Asia in 2015. It was picked by the judges for its mobile-first approach, making it the first tours & activities player to recognise that Asia needed a different strategy in this segment.
Klook’s Eric Gnock Fah (second left) and Ethan Lin (second right) accepting the WiT Startup prize in Tokyo back in 2015. Adrian Currie (right) of then-Priceline Group was chair of the judging panel that year.
Its timing was impeccable. Asia was ready for a mobile play in tours & activities. The rise in independent travellers across the region, especially from China and other North Asian markets, fuelled by low cost airlines was just about happening.
Growing confidence among consumers to book online and aspiration for travel experiences helped fuel appetite for Klook’s offerings. The fact that it grew out of a Hong Kong base though is worth mentioning – Hong Kong is not exactly known for its robust startup ecosystem and it is only in the last two years that the government is paying more attention to the sector.
Klook’s use of Hong Kong as a base though was inspired. It allowed it to operate from an established financial and commercial centre with close proximity to the growth markets of North Asia.
Klook’s pace and scale of growth has been impressive, fuelled by the growth in independent travellers across Asia.
Its pace and scale of growth since founding has been impressive. While there was skepticism over how it would build up a consumer brand at a time of expensive customer acquisition, and whether it was raising too much money too fast, the Klook team has proven sceptics wrong by furiously executing against its strategy to become one of the world’s fastest-growing booking platforms, covering attractions, tours, and local experiences as well as local transport and railway services around the globe.
It offers travelers more than 50,000 activities and services provided by over 5,000 industry partners in 200+ destinations worldwide. Since closing its US$60 million Series C fund last year, the company has opened offices in London and Amsterdam, and now employs more than 600 people across 16 offices around the world.
Klook’s success is a reflection of the Asia travel story and it says it is on track to achieve US$1 billion annual bookings in 2018.
Having established its base in Asia, Klook started expanding beyond the region last year and this latest war chest will allow it to expand in the US and Europe, including product growth and technology innovation.
It plans to open an office in the US by the end of 2018. The company will also be adding more US and Europe-based curated activities and services onto the platform to fulfill an increasing demand from Asian travelers for diverse and unique in-destination experiences.
Simultaneously, Klook will look to bring more US and European travelers to Asia, supporting the company’s long-term vision of serving travelers worldwide to easily discover destinations that are both popular and unique.
Klook has been a pioneer in driving travel innovation, developing travel operator solutions such as the Merchant App and QR-code based e-voucher redemption. Its technology solutions have been widely recognized and adopted by its merchant partners including world-renowned attractions, mass railway transit and other offline service operators.
Klook will continue to collaborate with its merchant partners to further provide frictionless, real-time booking experiences for modern travelers.
“Our mission is to empower travelers to build their own unique journey,” said Ethan Lin, CEO and Co-Founder of Klook, “This round of funding marks an important milestone for us. The funding and extensive experience from our new investors will let us to further solidify our merchant portfolio and provide travelers with even more activities and destinations to explore around the world.”
“We are committed to using innovative technologies to help digitize the tours and activities industry,” said Eric Gnock Fah, COO and Co-Founder of Klook. “The new funding will help us deepen our partnership with merchants through more technological solutions that bring new sources of customers and optimize operational efficiencies.”
“By leveraging their strength in digitally transforming their suppliers of tours and activities and tapping into the new generation of mobile-first travelers, Klook is emerging as the clear leader in the online tours and activities sector,” said Neil Shen, Founding and Managing Partner of Sequoia China. “We look forward to seeing Klook help more and more travelers connect to suppliers, and become a key source of inbound demand for Asia and beyond.”
“TCV seeks to invest in companies with exceptional management teams that drive technological innovation,” said David Yuan, General Partner at TCV. “Klook is at the forefront of transforming the travel industry and we’ve been impressed with the team and the company’s growth. We are excited to help them advance their global strategy and expansion.”
All said and done, it is great to see a travel brand rise out of Asia to take on the world.
• Featured image (wakeboarding, one of the many activities offered on Klook platform) credit: Klook’s Facebook page
