Phocuswright Finds Ground Transportation Captures Record Share of Travel Startup Funding
By: BWW News Desk May. 28, 2015
Investors have poured more than US$12 billion into travel startups founded over the past decade - and more than half of that funding was raised in 2014 alone. According to a new publication by travel industry research authority Phocuswright ("Travel Innovation: The State of Startups 2005-2014" - www.phocuswright.com/Travel-Research/Technology-Innovation/Travel-Innovation-The-State-of-Startups-2005-2014), which tracks nearly 1,000 travel companies launched worldwide from 2005-2014, massive bets on ground transportation and private accommodation innovators drove a record $6.4 billion in travel startup investment in 2014.
Following a broader trend among venture capitalists and other investors, the size of individual funding rounds for travel startups has ballooned in recent years. Uber tops them all with last year's $2.4 billion round, but a growing number of travel companies have attracted investments into the hundreds of millions. "Despite the higher investment ceiling, the lion's share of capital is flowing to a relatively small group of companies, primarily in the ground transportation and private accommodations segments," says Phocuswright's senior research analyst, Cathy Schetzina Walsh. "Among these are Uber, Didi Dache-Kuaidi Dache, Airbnb, Lyft, GrabTaxi, and Ola Cabs - each with a valuation of $1 billion or higher." Led by the U.S., North America and Asia Pacific have captured a disproportionate share of investor attention. The two regions combined are home to 67% of startups, but receive 81% of funding. Phocuswright's "Travel Innovation: The State of Startups 2005 - 2014" provides a thorough analysis of 993 digital travel startups featuring technology, commercial or segment innovation, including information on funding, vertical/horizontal trends, and regional analysis.Videos