Berlin-based ground transportation platform Omio has sealed a funding round of $80 million from some of the world’s leading tech and growth investors, the E round includes backing from some new investors including Lazard Asset Management and Stack Capital Group.
Existing investors doubling down their support for the almost decade-old business include NEA, Temasek, and funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, amongst others.
Omio, the travel platform formerly known as GoEuro, offers a search tool that enables users to find the fastest and cheapest travel options.
The company had earlier raised $100 million in 2020 and acquired rival Rome2Rio and launched in North America in 2020.
However, revenue and bookings dropped by about 95% when the pandemic hit and it went from a growth business model to having to manage its cash.
The new funding will be put towards reviving global expansion activities that have necessarily had to take a bit of a backseat during the pandemic including through M&A; and by doing more with its transportation data and inventory by scaling its partnerships (existing collaborations include tie-ups with Kayak, Huawei and LNER (London North Eastern Railway), among others.
Investment for hiring and product dev is also planned.
In addition to an increase in customer demand, the travel platform is witnessing a growth of over 140 percent above pre-pandemic 2019 levels in ticket bookings.
This comes along with a continuous shift to booking transportation via mobile applications, as well as a sustained shift to more sustainable transportation modes.
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