From funding in the Nordics to a Canary Islands acquisition 🎯

Hi there,

In this week’s newsletter we cover a mix of funding, acquisitions, and a couple of interesting collaborations across travel and hospitality. We handpicked a few updates worth knowing if you want to stay up to date.

Let’s get into it :)

_{FUNDING SPOTLIGHT}

Altek AI has raised €423k to expand its autonomous guest communication platform across the Nordics.

Based in Oslo, Altek AI helps hotels automate guest messaging and operational requests, with a clear goal: taking work off screens so teams can spend more time with guests. The company now has 40+ hotels live on the platform, built so far by a founding team of just two people.

💬 “We believe hospitality happens in person, not behind screens, so this funding will help us give hotels more time back to spend with their guests.” said co-founder Jon-Fredrik Hopland.

The funding will help the team hire and move faster on product development. A nice full-circle moment, too: Altek AI was a finalist in last year’s FutureTravel Pitch Competition. We love seeing how these stories evolve once teams step off our stage. 🫶

_{FROM OUR RADAR} 📡

🇺🇸 Tripworks raises $6M to scale its platform for tours and activities operators, focusing on automation and operational efficiency in a segment that still runs heavily on manual processes.

🇸🇬 Heymax closes a $11M Series A round to expand its travel rewards model, pointing to continued experimentation around loyalty, points, and alternative reward mechanics beyond traditional airline and hotel programmes.

🇪🇸 GuestReady expands into the Canary Islands through the acquisition of Lightbooking. The deal nearly doubles GuestReady’s presence in Spain, marking its 12th acquisition (!) to date.

Before checking out

Not funding rounds. Not product launches. Not deals. Just things we saw this week that made us think twice…

🧘‍♀️ Chief Relaxation Officer (yes, really)
The Cayman Islands just opened applications for its first-ever Chief Relaxation Officer: a two-week stay with one job requirement… slow down. Sleep well, spend time by the water, no schedules, no pressure to document.

See you next week,
Ana

Thank you for reading until the end.

The content of this newsletter is curated and published by Ana Metz, an innovation expert, passionate about technology and excited about the future of travel.

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