Data Firm Journera Raises Another $10 Million: Travel Startup Funding This Week
Photo Caption: Former Orbitz CEO Jeff Katz now runs Journera, a kind of customer relationship management system for travel companies that shares data to smooth customer experiences
Skift Take
Closely watched travel-data startup Journera raises another $10 million from big-name venture firms — and claims it can be profitable by next year. In a very different deal, an Alaskan airline is raising money online to fund expansion to Asia. Will it work? Since no major airline has tried it, it's hard to say.
Journera Chief Executive Jeffrey Katz has big news and a bolder prediction to share this week. The news: The closely watched travel data-sharing company raised another $10 million in a Series B-1 round from blue-chip venture capital firms led by B Capital and including new investor Par Capital, Boston Consulting Group and Andreessen Horowitz. That brings the six-year old company's total venture capital to $30.6 million. The not-quite-promise: Journera will turn profitable in 2023.
"Profitability is on the horizon for us, as soon as next year if we keep costs low," said Katz, a former chief executive of online travel agency Orbitz. "The market is collapsing, and we just closed a round.''
The Chicago company connects different travel providers, sharing encrypted data about customers to help smooth their journeys, Katz said. Much of its promise is about solving problems that result from things like flights that arrive early or late, alerting hotels and ground tran
