The State of VC in Travel: Europe Edition

Last season we took a deep dive into the venture investing scene here in the US, including the different approaches taken by corporate ventures teams and institutional funds, and the growth of new platforms like studios and accelerators.

Now it’s Europe’s turn. We’ll take a look at the European venture scene and what investors are seeing on that side of the pond. Valuations, M&A activity, implications of governmental regulation, and fundraising trends for both VCs and startups.

The ecosystem across Europe and the UK is has taken a big step forward in its maturity, with the rise of travel tech “mafias” as the unicorns like Booking and Get Your Guide spawn the next generation of startup founders with the recycled cash from those exits. Coupled with the strong corporate venture capital (CVC) foundation and the commitment by governments to support their startup ecosystems, it seems this market is flush with the alchemy of funds, talent and ideas to position it for some incredible growth.

We talk to some of the big brains who are actively investing across the UK and EU to hear what they are most excited about.

Follows
Gilad Berenstein – host
Cara Whitehill - host
Michael Trescow – guest
Bobby Demri – guest
Beat Blaser - guest

Go Deeper

• The Travel And Mobility Tech Sector Attractiveness Report - TNMT
• The EU AI Act: A Critical Analysis of Its Potential Impact on Innovation in Europe (and Benefits to the US) - LinkedIN
• European startups and policy: Navigating challenges, harnessing opportunities - EU-Startups
• VCs torn about European startups’ M&A path - Sifted [$]
• Europe’s Venture Capital Scene Is Narrowing The Gap With The US Despite Global Investment Slowdown - Forbes
• Stepping Up Venture Capital to Finance Innovation in Europe - IMF