Travel Tech Funding Slides to $2.2 Billion, On Pace for Multiyear Low

Travel tech startups raised $2.2 billion across just 302 funding rounds in the first three quarters of 2026, according to Crunchbase data — a pace that would mark the sector's lowest fundraising year since at least 2018.

The figure is down sharply from the $3.7 billion travel tech companies collected in all of 2025. Deal volume is on track to fall for a third consecutive year, a sign that investors are putting more money into fewer companies.

The slowdown persists even as travel demand holds up and a wave of startups pitches AI as the fix for travel planning and booking. Whether uncertainty over how AI will reshape the sector is itself contributing to the pullback remains an open question.

How far has funding fallen?

The contrast with prior years is stark. Travel tech funding topped $12 billion in 2021 — remarkable, given how much travel ground to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic, totals ran well above today's levels: $9.4 billion across 1,277 deals in 2018, and $10.4 billion across 1,190 transactions in 2019.

The largest funding recipients this year span hotel management software, booking platforms, alternative accommodations, corporate events, electric aviation, travel finance and insurance, and consumer hospitality — a broad definition of travel tech. AI recurs across the biggest rounds, with startups using it to automate hospitality operations, personalize bookings and streamline trip planning.

Travel industry researcher Skift flagged the downturn in a recent newsletter: "Though it's too early to say whether this is a long-term market movement, it's a clear sign of the times."

Takeaway: dollars and deal counts are both at decade lows, and AI hasn't reversed the slide.

Which deals topped the list?

Several of the year's largest rounds went to companies headquartered outside the United States.

• Mews, an Amsterdam-based hospitality software company, raised a $300 million Series D in January led by EQT Growth, with participation from Atomico, HarbourVest Partners, Kinnevik, Battery Ventures and Tiger Global Management. The round valued Mews at $2.5 billion. The company helps hotels manage reservations, payments and operations and plans to expand its use of AI agents to automate workflows.
• Aerofugia, a Chengdu-based developer of electric vertical takeoff-and-landing passenger aircraft — often called flying taxis — raised about $144 million in February. CITIC Securities led the financing, joined by New Alliance Capital, Vertex Ventures China and other investors. Automaker Geely also backs the company.
• Stay22, based in Montreal, secured a $122 million minority growth investment from Summit Partners in February. The startup uses AI to help publishers, creators and event organizers turn audience travel interest into bookings and affiliate revenue.
• Kindred, a San Francisco home-swapping platform, announced an $85 million Series C in February led by Index Ventures, plus a $40 million Series B co-led by New Enterprise Associates and Figma CEO Dylan Field — $125 million disclosed in a single day. Kindred runs a members-only network where travelers exchange stays in one another's homes.
• Naboo, a Paris-based startup using AI to help businesses source venues and organize corporate events, announced a $70 million Series B in February led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Notion Capital, Isai and Ternel.

Takeaway: the money that is flowing concentrates in a handful of later-stage, increasingly international bets.

What happened on the exit side?

Established travel companies have been buying AI startups. Amadeus acquired SkyLink, a corporate travel AI assistant, in February. Expedia acquired AI trip-planning startup Layla in July. Both deals fit the pattern of incumbents purchasing startups to expand their AI capabilities rather than building in-house.

Expedia also closed its acquisition of venture-backed Tiqets, a booking platform for museums, attractions and experiences, in February.

One prominent IPO fell through. Travel experiences platform Klook withdrew its planned U.S. offering in October after filing last November.

The one clear winner among public players is Navan, the corporate travel booking and expense management platform formerly called TripActions. Its stock has risen nearly 60% this year. Navan began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker NAVN in October 2025, and closed at $27 on Oct. 28 — up about 58% from its Dec. 31 closing price of $17.08 and 8% above its $25 IPO price, meaning much of this year's gain simply recovered post-listing losses.

Takeaway: acquirers are picking up AI travel tools cheaply while public-market conviction remains thin outside Navan.

The question heading into 2027: whether AI-native travel startups can convert incumbents' acquisition appetite into a new funding cycle — or whether the third straight annual decline hardens into the sector's new baseline.