Business Travel Platform TravelPerk Raises $200M, Doubling Valuation to $2.7B - 1

Image courtesy of TravelPerk

Business Travel Platform TravelPerk Raises $200M, Doubling Valuation to $2.7B

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

The Barcelona-based business travel company, TravelPerk, raised $200 million in a Series E funding round, nearly doubling its valuation to $2.7 billion. The startup also announced the purchase of Yokoy, a Swiss company specializing in expense management and spend management solutions for businesses.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • TravelPerk raised $200 million during a Series E funding round, nearly doubling its valuation to $2.7 billion.
  • The Spanish startup also acquired the Swiss company Yokoy to expand its travel and expenses platform.
  • With the new funding, they aim to expand into the U.S., develop more technology—including AI—and accelerate growth.

According to CNBC , the Spanish company will use the capital to expand to the United States, accelerate growth, and invest in new tech products and AI solutions. Atomico, EQT, and Noteus Partners were among the investors in the recent funding round.

Last year, TravelPerk raised $104 million in a funding round led by SoftBank—the Japanese company is also assuming financial responsibility in the $500 Billion ‘Stargate Project’ led by OpenAI in the U.S.—reaching unicorn status.

According to the president and chief operating officer at TravelPerk, Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo, the startup has been growing because it proved to have a stable and solid product during the pandemic, and got to rebound after the challenges in the travel market during that time, gaining a good business reputation.

“Why we are doing so well now is because we had that period where you had to be strong. You had to have a good foundation, you had to be scrappy,” said Taunay-Bucalo to CNBC and explained they are focusing on long-term results. “We want to be here in 100 years… We have this almost unusually long-term view for a tech company. And as a consequence, the way we see the world is a little bit different. We don’t want to do these quick things and then get out.”

TravelPerk has over 1,500 employees and, a few months ago, acquired the American company AmTrav, a business travel management platform, as part of its strategy to expand into the U.S. market. The company has no intentions of launching an IPO and is focused on prioritizing its customers and leveraging technology, including AI, to its advantage.

Nvidia Loses Nearly $600 Billion As AI Rival DeepSeek Shakes Up AI Market - 2

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Nvidia Loses Nearly $600 Billion As AI Rival DeepSeek Shakes Up AI Market

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

Nvidia’s shares dropped 17% on Monday, losing around $600 billion in market value, after DeepSeek gained popularity with its latest AI model and reached the top spot on Apple’s App Store . The loss has been described as the largest single-day market value loss for a company in history.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Nvidia lost $589 billion in market capitalization yesterday after DeepSeek released its latest AI model and gained popularity in the U.S. market.
  • The Chinese startup demonstrated that it can build powerful AI models without relying on Nvidia’s GPUs, posing a challenge to Nvidia’s leadership in the AI market.
  • The American company’s valuation dropped from $3.5 trillion to $2.9 trillion.

According to The New York Times , the plunge is related to the Chinese startup’s success in proving it can build and train advanced AI models without relying on Nvidia’s Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), challenging the American company’s leadership in the market.

Last year, Nvidia’s shares soared as it capitalized on the AI wave, developing hardware for cutting-edge AI technology and climbing to the top ranks among the world’s most powerful companies. While its shares had already declined by August after its impressive growth in the previous months, the recent drop has been particularly alarming—marking its worst day since the pandemic-driven sell-off in 2020.

According to Forbes , this loss represents “the biggest market loss in history” for a company in a single day, as Nvidia lost a total of $589 billion in market capitalization yesterday. Nvidia lost its position as the most valuable company in the world, with its valuation dropping from $3.5 trillion to $2.9 trillion, falling below Microsoft and Apple.

Nvidia controls 90% of the AI chip market, powering OpenAI’s ChatGPT since 2022, and increasing its revenue above 200% in the past few years, but now DeepSeek’s breakthrough has raised concerns about the future of the company.

Just a few days ago, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang introduced new chips and technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.