Skift Take
Pets deserve a vacation too and with Rover their owners can't say there weren't any sitters available as an excuse not to take a vacation. Also, Meerkat's bank account keeps growing but whether users' interests are as well is a different story.
Each week we create a roundup of travel startups that have received or announced funding that week. The total amount raised this week was nearly $40 million.
Here are seven companies that announced they raised funding this week, listed in order by the highest amount raised. See previous roundups here.
>>Rover raised a $25 million Series E round from new investor Technology Crossover Ventures and existing investors Petco, Menlo Ventures, Madrona Venture Group and Foundry Group bringing the Seattle, Washington-based startup’s total funding to more than $50.9 million (its last funding round, Series D, was for an undisclosed amount).
Rover is a platform letting dog owners find homes for their pets to stay in while they’re on vacation. Rover’s dog sitters either host a dog in their own home or will come to the dog’s home and sitters undergo several layers of background checks and certifications. Rover is available in most major U.S. cities and the company estimates most Americans live less than 50 miles from the nearest certified Rover sitter.
>>Meerkat raised a $12 million Series B round from new investor Greylock Partners, bringing the San Francisco-based startups total funding to $16.2 million.
The livestreaming video app allows users to conduct live broadcasts. With the touch of a button, someone can start live-streaming from their smartphone to all of their Twitter (and Meerkat) followers. The app was designed to work exclusively with Twitter and requires users to have a Twitter handle before they can use the app.
>>Skypicker raised a $1 million venture round from new investor Ondrej Tomek bringing the Brno, Czech Republic-based startup’s total funding to $2.3 million.
The European flight-booking platform focuses on selling low-cost flights in Europe but also sells cheap flights in the U.S.
>>SocialCar raised a $728,000 seed round from new investor Cabiedes and Partners.
The Barcelona, Spain-based peer-to-peer transportation startup lets users rent cars on a daily basis.
>>Flytographer raised a $650,000 seed round from nine angel investors all based in British Columbia, Canada.
The Victoria, British Columbia-based startup is a service connecting travelers with local photographers to capture their vacations, engagements, solo travels, honeymoons, girlfriends getaways and more. Flytographer was founded in 2013 and has 230 photographers available in 130 destinations around the world.
>>Regatta Travel Solutions raised a $345,000 seed round from an unidentified investor.
The Charlottesville, Virginia-based startup offers a booking platform for hotels to use to help them increase their direct bookings.
>>Tripoto raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round from new investors Outbox Ventures and IDG Ventures India after raising $400,000 in its seed round last year.
The India-based startup lets travelers share trip itineraries, photos, reviews and maps with their friends and fellow travelers.
The Daily Newsletter
Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.
Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch
Tags: funding, semantic, startups
Photo credit: Rover is a dog sitting service offering people who will watch dogs while their owners are on vacation. Rover