Peek Acquires Zozi's Assets in Further Consolidation of Tours and Activities Tech Sector

Two of the most heavily funded, venture-backed reservation services and marketplaces for tours and activities are essentially merging, as the healthier Peek acquires the assets and employees of Zozi. Peek, which has raised $16 million in publicly disclosed funding, is acquiring the assets of Zozi, which has raised more than $44 million. That said, Peek disputes the notion that the deal is a merger or acquisition, preferring to say that Peek is partnering with Zozi or that the companies are "coming together." Peek wouldn't detail the terms or nature of the deal. Essentially Peek is hiring Zozi employees and onboarding its customers while the Zozi brand, software, and marketplace will be phased out this year. The sensitivity about the merger characterization could have to do with the pending litigation against Zozi, first reported by TechCrunch. Ruzwana Bashir, the chief executive of Peek, claims that "this deal will make Peek the largest platform for tours and activities in the world," although Skift couldn't verify that. Bashir is referring to the backend technology part and not the consumer-facing element. TripAdvisor's Viator and GetYourGuide, both