Klook raises $100 million in funding led by Vitruvian Partners

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Travel booking service company Klook said on Wednesday it had raised $100 million in funding led by European investment firm Vitruvian Partners.

Klook said in a statement that the newly secured capital will drive its next phase of growth and innovation, but it did not disclose its valuation after the fund raise.

It said it plans to enhance customer experience, merchant operations and internal productivity via its expanded artificial intelligence partnership with Google Cloud.

Klook, which was founded in 2014, provides various booking services to travellers across a range of locations globally and competes with other booking services providers such as TripAdvisor and Airbnb.

“We believe Vitruvian’s investment and its deep thematic expertise in the global travel experience market will help further drive Klook’s growth by strengthening its operational capabilities and expanding its reach,” said Sophie Bower-Straziota, partner at Vitruvian.

Founded in 2006, Vitruvian manages 20 billion euro ($20.72 billion) in assets globally and invests between 40 million euro to more than 600 million plus euro in companies typically valued between 75 million euro to more than 4 billion euro, according to its website.

($1 = 0.9652 euros)

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Rashmi Aich)