Expedia puts its money where the trail is
$4.3m Trails Fund a sign of sustainability meeting commerce
For Aditi Mohapatra, VP of Global Social Impact and Sustainability at Expedia Group, the launch of the Expedia Trails Fund is a signal that sustainability, often seen as a soft function within corporates, is finding its commercial footing. [...]
Money, moats and the AI mirage: What it takes to build and fund a startup now
There is a peculiar kind of vertigo that comes with being a travel technology founder right now. On one side, Silicon Valley is minting billionaires at a pace not seen since the dot-com era. On the other, investors are skittish, M&A is grinding, and raising a seed round can feel like pushing a b [...]
APAC startup funding tightens as market matures
While travel demand in Asia Pacific (APAC) remains strong, early-stage startups may find it harder to secure funding.
According to an upcoming Phocuswright research report, “A Market Rewired: Ten Structural Shifts Redefining Asia Pacific Travel,” investors increasingly are prioritiz [...]
Hilton Global Foundation commits record US$5.4M investment to community resilience, including 5 APAC grantees
The Hilton Global Foundation has announced a US$5.4 million commitment to 18 nonprofit organisations worldwide, marking its largest annual grant portfolio to date and signalling a continued push to align philanthropy with the broader hospitality ecosystem. The funding, revealed in Febr [...]
HeyMax secures US$11M Series A to accelerate product development and regional expansion, led by Peak XV Partners
HeyMax, a loyalty and travel rewards platform headquartered in Singapore, announced it has raised US$11 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV Partners. The round also attracted strategic investor Betatron Venture Group, with continued support from existing backers January Capital and Tenity.
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Capital in action: The next flow – slower, smarter, selective
In an age of abundant ideas but cautious money, capital is being redefined – slower, smarter, more selective. That was the message from a powerhouse panel of investors and dealmakers at WiT Singapore’s session “Capital in Action: Flow for the Next Age.”
Moderator Chris Hemmeter, Managing [...]
The art of knowing when to hold, pivot, and exit
At the final Travel Tech Thursdays edition of 2025, held at Wego’s Kuala Lumpur office, three industry veterans sat down for a deeply practical (sometimes comedic) conversation about building, breaking, and rebuilding travel businesses.
Over an hour, Chan Chee Chong (CC), CEO & Co-Founder [...]
Beyond margins, the new metrics behind tourism investments
In one of the most animated and layered conversations at TOURISE 2025, CNN’s Richard Quest masterfully steered a panel featuring HE Fahd bin Abdulmohsan Al-Rasheed, advisor in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of SCEG; Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor; Ferit Şahenk [...]
Prosus to invest $146 million in ixigo for 10.1% stake
Fresh from Aloke Bajpai’s appearance at WiT Singapore this week speaking about the massive opportunity in the Indian travel market where under 5% of Indians fly, inbound arrivals are only at 11-12 million visitors, and out of 800 million internet users, only 150 million buy travel online, ixigo is [...]
Online Travel In Asia: The Untold Story (Chapters 5 – 8)
The next chapters of Online Travel in Asia: The Untold Story dive into the defining “moonshot moments” that changed the course of the travel tech industry. From Agoda’s acquisition by Priceline in 2007 to MakeMyTrip’s IPO in 2010, and Qunar’s $306 million sale to Baidu the following year, [...]
