South Korean travel tech startup Globaleur has raised $2.5 million in their pre-series A round and recently completed setting up an office in Singapore as part of their expansion plans for South East Asia (SEA).

Globaleur said in a statement on Tuesday it has attracted renowned venture capital firms such as SeaX Ventures, Knet Investment Partners, Big Basin Capital, and Primer Sazze based in San Francisco and Seoul.

David C. Lee and Grace Wang founded Globaleur in 2017. The duo designed the Globaleur engine to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, to solve the issue of the fragmented travel industry by connecting the end-to-end travel experience.

Globaleur addresses bridging the gap in the travel experience through three key components; pre-flight, in-flight, and in-destination.

Its AI Personalization Engine maps out user preferences across the board. From destinations and flights, their interactions with in-flight entertainment systems in the air, and preferences for activities on the ground.

Globaleur presents users with a complete overview of their trip for a hyper-personalised traveller experience.

“There is a mega trend in AI-powered personalization across multiple industries, and travel, now recovering from COVID, will catch on to this trend,

“We decided to invest in Globaleur since it’s one of the first companies to apply such technology to help airlines, hotel chains, travel management companies (TMCs), online travel agencies (OTAs), and government-operated tourism boards offer a seamless travel experience to their end users while personalizing offers and itineraries for both leisure and business travelers,” said Supachai Kid Parchariyanon, managing partner of SeaX Ventures, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RISE.

According to the statement, the Korea Tourism Startup Center (KTSC) has been working with Globaleur before their pre-series A round to lay the groundwork for expansion in Singapore.

KTSC’s efforts have led to talks between Changi Airport Group and Globaleur Jang Min Jun, Deputy Director of KTO Singapore, who is in charge of KTSC.

“Globaleur’s solutions have the potential to improve Singapore’s travel digital infrastructure. KTSC is connecting them with key stakeholders in the industry, and we are excited to be part of their global growth,” said Jang.

As the global tourism industry is recovering, Globaleur has gained a lot of momentum in the market and is receiving heavy interest from global FSC (full-service carrier) airlines, government-operated tourism boards, airports, hotel chains, and some of the largest commercial banks in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Their growth has skyrocketed along with the market recovery and expects to grow their annual recurring revenue by 6 times with more than 5 million in monthly active users.

“Singapore plays a huge role in our business strategy heading into 2023. KTSC has been a big part of that push, helping us fast-track the discussion with Changi Airport Group by putting us in touch with the relevant business contacts in Singapore and saving us months in our sales cycle,

“We foresee our collaboration with Singapore’s travel industry serving as a regional benchmark in the near future,” said Lee.

Riding the momentum, Globaleur recently completed setting up its Singapore office. This initiative will be headed by Globaleur’s top talent globally and position Singapore as the gateway to the rest of SEA.

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