€58.7M raised in 12 months: Naboo's next move is the US

Hi there,

This week we're talking about France-based Naboo raising €58.7M to help companies deal with their messy event spending, plus a few interesting funding rounds in flying taxis and autonomous vehicles, plus Korean Air's fun approach to airport lounges.

Also a quick heads up: we'll be in Barcelona for MWC and Berlin for ITB soon. Let us know if you'll be around 🚀

_{FUNDING SPOTLIGHT}

Naboo, a Paris-based event tech startup, has raised €58.7M in Series B funding, just a year after its €20M Series A. The funding will accelerate US expansion and product development as Naboo broadens its platform beyond events into wider procurement categories. They are building an AI-powered platform that helps companies book and manage corporate events in one place, replacing fragmented tools and manual coordination.

A key focus for Naboo is the so-called tail spend, the smaller event and procurement expenses that don't go through official supplier agreements and are hard for companies to track.

💬 “Our mission is clear: to provide large enterprises with an infrastructure that combines purchasing performance, compliance and automation on a global scale,” said Maxime Eduardo, CEO and co-founder of Naboo.

_{ON OUR RADAR}

🇺🇸 Natilus raises $28M to advance its blended-wing cargo aircraft, designed to lower freight costs and fuel consumption compared to traditional planes.

🇨🇳 Aerofugia raises nearly $150M to advance certification of its electric flying taxis, bringing the company closer to commercial passenger operations.

🇺🇸 Waymo raises $16B to expand its autonomous taxi operations, bringing self-driving ride-hailing to more cities.

🇺🇸 BizTrip AI raises $1.5M in pre-seed funding to build AI-powered tools that help business travellers plan trips, book tools, and manage itineraries more intelligently.

🇺🇸 Popfly acquires Mount, bringing Mount’s travel creator network into its platform as it expands into travel and local experiences.

_INSIGHT

Korean Air just opened a ramyeon library in its business class lounge at Incheon. Passengers can browse shelves of instant noodles, pick their toppings, cook them up, and enjoy them before their flight.

There's also a cooking studio, an arcade with claw machines and photo booths. Lots of the usual quiet corners as well. You can see more of the lounge here. 

What I like about it is that it's a different approach than the usual buffet + neutral tones combo. A treat for families and younger travelers :) Korean Air leaned into something local and interactive - ramyeon is everywhere in Korean culture, and now it's part of the airport experience too. ✌️

9-12 days
It takes 9 days to book a flight and 12 days to book a hotel from first search to purchase, reinforcing how long and multi-touch the travel booking journey remains.
_{Source: Criteo Global Winter Travel Pulse 2025}

_{BEFORE CHECKING OUT}

🇩🇪 We’ve just confirmed that FutureTravel will be at ITB Berlin in a few weeks and can’t wait to make the most of our days in the city!

So if there’s a side event, meetup, dinner, startup or someone we absolutely shouldn’t miss, let us know 🤓

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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