HONG KONG, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Klook announced today that it has completed a near US$60 million Series C funding. This round of investment, representing the largest deal ever for an in-destination service booking platform, is a co-investment led by Sequoia China which also led the Series B funding, Goldman Sachs and existing investor Matrix Partners, along with participation from various Asia-based family funds through global VC fund, OurCrowd. The proceeds of the funding will be used to finance global expansion and accelerate product growth and innovation.
Since the launch in 2014, Klook has built a network of close to 30,000 travel activities and services covering more than 120 destinations worldwide. With a few simple taps on the Klook App, travelers can easily access local transit, skip the lines at major theme parks, discover ancient cities on a guided tour, or skydive over beaches and mountains. Klook's seamless booking process, powered by its innovative technology, benefits users with QR code e-vouchers and instant confirmation.
Today, Klook brings in over 1 million monthly bookings, serving users from over 50 nationalities with the majority coming from Asia. Klook's robust growth has been driven by the rise of independent travelers and the fast adoption of mobile booking. Some of Klook's fastest growing user markets include Greater China, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, among others where mobile contributes over 70% of total bookings. To better serve travelers worldwide, Klook's service is available in 7 different languages and accepts over 30 currencies, with more to come.
Since previous funding earlier this year, Klook has doubled its staff from 200 to well over 400 located in 13 offices across Asia. Building on this momentum, Klook will use the additional financing to expand globally to capture the growing market opportunity for both Asian travelers going long-haul to North America, Europe, Australia and inbound visitors to Asia from these developed markets.
"Klook's mission is to empower every person to travel independently, with all in-destination needs taken care of, for the ultimate hassle-free experience and more time to enjoy the trip," says Ethan Lin, Co-Founder of Klook. "This round of funding gives us additional resources to further strengthen our leading position in Asia while accelerating expansion into new markets and verticals."
"As demonstrated by its remarkable growth, Klook is a leading player in the Asian in-destination travel space and has a proven track record in cross-region business development," said Stephanie Hui, Head of Principal Investment Area at Goldman Sachs in Asia ex-Japan, "Our investment, together with the network and resources of Goldman Sachs, will help Klook further expand and provide services globally."
"In addition to global expansion, we plan to use the funding to accelerate the development of travel technology, which is really the core of the company. We are extremely excited at the potential of AI technology in reshaping a traveler's experience when researching and booking a trip," says Eric Gnock Fah, Co-founder and President of Klook. "One area we are pursuing is the application of machine learning to facilitate smarter search. By leveraging our large amount of data sets and millions of transactions, we look forward to enabling visual and vocal search to satisfy travelers' spontaneity with more precise and curated options."
About Klook
Klook is Asia's largest in-destination services booking platform that gives travelers a simple and trusted way to conveniently book and enjoy over 30,000 popular attractions, local experiences and services around the world. Klook's network of over 3,000 direct partners include world famous attractions such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, to locally recognized operators such as Hong Kong's Ngong Ping 360, Bangkok Blue Elephant Cooking School, and more. Klook's quality services have garnered over 1 million verified user reviews.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2014, Klook has been recognized by globally-renowned media and awards including Forbes, Deloitte Fast Technology, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and many others. Klook's mobile app has also been awarded Best of the Year by both Apple App Store and Google Play and has been featured over 100 times as the go-to app for trip planning. With a team of over 400 across 13 offices, Klook's services are available in 7 languages, supporting over 30 currencies. Klook has amassed close to US$100 million investment from world renowned investors.
About Sequoia China
The Sequoia team helps daring founders build legendary companies. In partnering with Sequoia, companies benefit from our unmatched community and the lessons we've learned over 45 years working with Apple, Cisco, Oracle, Google, Alibaba, Airbnb and JD.com among many others.
As "The Entrepreneurs Behind The Entrepreneurs", Sequoia China focuses on four sectors: TMT, healthcare, consumer/service, and industrial technology. Over the past 12 years we've had the privilege of working with more than 300 companies in China, including Alibaba, Ali Pictures, AutoNavi, Beta Pharma, BGI, Deppon Logistics, Dianping, Didi, DJI, Ganji.com, Hero Entertainment, JD.com, Jumei, Meituan, Meilishuo, Momo, Noah, Ourpalm, Plateno Hotels Group, Qihoo 360, Sina.com, SINNET, Snibe Diagnostic, Toutiao, VanceInfo, VIPshop, Wanda Cinemas, Weigao Group, Yuwell Medical, ZTO Express. Sequoia has operations in China, India and United States.
About Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world. Since 1986, the Principal Investment Area of Goldman Sachs has raised over $140 billion of capital in equity, credit and real estate funds to invest in a variety of geographies, industries and transaction types. With Principal Investment Area representatives in six countries around the world, Goldman Sachs is one of the largest managers of private capital globally, offering deep expertise and longstanding relationships with companies, investors, entrepreneurs and financial intermediaries.
About Matrix Partners
With over US$3 billion under management and nearly 100 investment professionals in China, Matrix Partners specializes in early- and mid-stage investments, and has invested in more than 430 companies, among which 25 have been listed, 9 have reached valuation of over US$5 billion, 25 over US$1 billion. Matrix Partners invests mainly in mobile internet, transaction platform, SaaS, AI, FinTech, mobile healthcare, consumption upgrade, new media and social network, and star portfolios include Didi, Momo, ele.me, ofo, Kingnet, Cheetah Mobile, 21Vianet, Bona Films, Guazi, Baofeng, Edan, tubatu, Zhaogang, Yuantiku, VIPKID, PINTEC, 36Kr, etc. Matrix Partners has offices in Cambridge and Waltham, MA; Palo Alto, CA; Mumbai, India; and Beijing and Shanghai, China.
About OurCrowd
OurCrowd is a leading Israeli venture capital platform, managing over $450M in assets from family offices and high net worth individuals from over 100 countries. Managed by a team of seasoned investment professionals based in Israel and led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects opportunities, invests its own capital, and brings companies to its accredited membership of global investors.
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To learn more about our investors, please visit:
Sequoia Capital: www.sequoiacap.com/china/en/
Goldman Sachs: www.goldmansachs.com
Matrix Partners: www.matrixpartners.com.cn
OurCrowd: www.ourcrowd.com/
For media enquiries, please contact:
Eleven Liu, Corporate PR
Email: eleven@klook.com/ press@klook.com
Mobile: +852-97945095
