Sherpa Raises $8.5 Million for Simpler Visas: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups announced more than $24 million in funding. >>Sherpa, a travel tech startup, raised $8.5 million in venture equity funding. Narrative Fund and True Ventures led the round. Relay Ventures, TSVC, Globalive Capital, N49P, Plug and Play Ventures, Golden Ventures, Stuart MacDonald (founder of Expedia.ca), and LP Maurice (founder and CEO of Busbud) also invested. Founded by CEO Max Tremaine and Ivan Sharko, the Toronto-based company has a current focus on helping travelers cope with the complexities of crossing borders during a pandemic. The company has raised $9 million in total since its start in 2015. "In 2019, administering travel documents like visas cost airlines more than $1 billion, and new travel rules are making this issue more acute," said Tremaine. "By presenting the right information and ensuring that travelers have what they need to cross borders, we are making a meaningful difference for trust in travel." Sherpa recently signed partnerships with Expedia, Americans Airlines, TripActions, Icelandair, and The Travel Corporation. These companies tap the startup's data feeds to give travelers current information