Loan, Grants or Fundingstartups

Startup Funding Roundup: Smiler Raises $8.5 Million to Connect Photographers with Tourists

While more firms are attempting to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel, Smiler wants to make it simpler for travellers and photographers to interact at tourism locations.

The startup with its headquarters in Amsterdam just launched the Smiler.co website, where customers can schedule and plan picture shoots in advance. The company features locations like the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum in Rome, and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and has a pool of 20,000 photographers.

With ambitions to add hundreds of additional locations and photography experiences over the course of the following year, the cash will be used to increase the startup’s visibility on a worldwide scale.

The company claimed that concentrating on high-traffic areas like tourist attractions enables photographers to finish several shorter sessions in less time, providing individual customers with more cheap options while also improving the revenue possibilities for photographers.

The startup with its headquarters in Amsterdam just launched the Smiler.co website, where customers can schedule and plan picture shoots in advance. The company features locations like the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum in Rome, and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and has a pool of 20,000 photographers.

With ambitions to add hundreds of additional locations and photography experiences over the course of the following year, the cash will be used to increase the startup’s visibility on a worldwide scale.

The company claimed that concentrating on high-traffic areas like tourist attractions enables photographers to finish several shorter sessions in less time, providing individual customers with more cheap options while also improving the revenue possibilities for photographers.The company offers prepaid corporate cards that clients can issue to employees.

“Our software enables complete compliance, spending tracking, and a number of back-office controls. We provide the finest experience for employees by allowing them to schedule bookings quickly and easily. In a statement, Marcelo Linhares, co-founder and CEO of Onfly, stated, “We provide real-time insight of all these charges for financial managers, avoiding spreadsheets, tedious email exchanges, and phone calls with travel agencies.

According to the business, it serves almost 1,000 clients of all sizes.

The money will be used on hiring for the technology, marketing, and sales divisions. It will also be used to investigate acquisitions and release new goods.

>>OXCCU has secured $22.7 million (£18 million) in a series A fundraising round. The company is working on a method to transform carbon dioxide and hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel. 

Ad tech comes underneath the microscope as entrepreneurs evolve their media mix

Aramco Ventures, Eni Next, United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, Braavos Capital, Kiko Ventures, University of Oxford, Trafigura, TechEnergy Ventures, and Doral Energy-Tech Ventures also invested in the round, which was led by Clean Energy Ventures.

In 2021, the Oxford University spun off the startup.

“At OXCCU, we’re inspired by the prospect of crossing the Atlantic using sustainable aviation fuel,” CEO Andrew Symes said in a statement. “With the support of this seasoned group of investors, we are confident that we can scale this technology into a cost-competitive and globally deployable solution to create a sustainable drop-in product for the global aviation market,” the statement continued.

>>A $5.8 million fundraising round headed by Fuel Ventures has enabled Beyonk, a platform designed to assist tour and attraction operators with ticket sales.

The London-based business has currently raised $9.7 Million.

The platform has functionality for digital ticketing, point of sale, event participant management, and gift vouchers. In order to become one of the biggest ticket vendors for attractions in the UK, the firm joined with Bookinghound in 2022.

According to Beyonk CEO Oscar White, the company grew by 400 percent between 2021 and 2022 and is “set to hit similar metrics this year.”

The funds will be used to grow in the United States, Australia, and Europe as well as to create new tools for operators, such one that will boost client loyalty.With the help of individual investor Sean Chong, Trip Affiliates Network, which offers a platform for booking and distribution to travel agencies, has acquired $4.5 million in series A funding.

The platform, which is situated in Singapore, enables hotels, travel wholesalers, operators, and destination management firms to do more thorough business dealings with one another. The money will be used for hiring, marketing, and the development of new features as well as for expanding the company throughout Asia, particularly Greater China and Asia Pacific.

>>The Y Combinator startup incubator has invested $500,000 in Roame, a search engine for airline reward programmes.

The start-up claimed that clients can easily identify the best flight bargains on 12 airlines through its website, maximising the value of loyalty points accumulated. It also provides details on the credit cards that might provide users the most airline miles.

>>Amadeus has made an undisclosed investment in Caphenia, which is developing synthetic petrol as a component of environmentally friendly aircraft fuel. Amadeus receives a small ownership in the startup as a result of the financing.

Skift Cheat Sheet

Money used to launch a firm, seed cash is frequently provided by friends, family, and angel investors.

Venture capitalists are often the source of Series A funding. The funding round is intended to assist company owners in ensuring that their offering is something that consumers actually want to purchase.

The major goal of Series B financing is to accelerate a company’s growth with the aid of venture capital firms. These fundraising events can help with the development of cost-effective marketing strategies and the hiring of qualified personnel.

Typically, Series C finance is used to aid in a company’s expansion, such as through acquisitions. Hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms frequently participate in addition to VCs.

Beyond Series D, E, and These are mainly established companies, and the fundraising round may aid a corporation in getting ready to go public or be bought. Private investors of various stripes could take part.

Content Protection by DMCA.com

Back to top button