Masabi Raises $20 Million for Ticketing Tech: Travel Startup Funding This Week
Sean O'Neill
May 3rd, 2019 at 12:15 AM EDT
Skift Take
Masabi enables cities, such as Denver and Sydney, to sell tickets on public transit via the mobile apps of travel companies like Uber. Meanwhile, Elenium disrupts airport self check-in, Pana pivots into corporate travel, and Sweetguest surfs the growth in management services for vacation rentals.
This week travel startups announced more than $49 million in funding.
>>Masabi, which makes ticketing and payments for public transport available through mobile apps like Uber, has raised a $20 million Series C funding round.
Smedvig Capital led the round. MMC Ventures also participated. Masabi has now raised more than $40.8 million in funding since its founding in London in 2001.
Masabi offers public transit authorities software for ticketing and mobile payments. The London company's main product, Justride, lets consumers tap a contactless bank card, mobile phone, or smartcard to travel on public transit. In 2018, consumers paid for more than 85 million journeys via the system, the company said.
However, what will be of more interest to travel industry players is that Masabi makes it easier for ride-sharing apps, trip-planning apps, and other corporate and leisure online travel company apps to integrate ticketing for public transit services that haven't yet been able to afford technology integ
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