Hopper completes second investment round of 2021 to hit $3.5bn valuation

AI travel app secures $175m Series G raise within months of £$170m Series F

Fast-growing travel US-based app Hopper has followed up a Series F raise of $170 million in March with a Series G investment of $175 million.

The latest round was led by GPI Capital with participation from Glade Brook Capital, WestCap, Goldman Sachs Growth and Accomplice.

In March last year Hopper raised $70 million and to date the firm has raised a total of $600 million valuing it at $3.5 billion.

Hopper was reported to be bouncing back strongly from the pandemic with quarter one revenues already double what it achieved pre-COVID.

The highly rated app, which uses artificial intelligence to dynamically price travel, has been downloaded 60 million times driving US market share above pre-pandemic levels.

The new funds will be invested in plans to accelerate growth with customer support a particular focus after COVID-19 saw a spike in consumer engagement.

The pandemic saw Hopper double the size of its support team and bring in automation tools, but it still plans to hire an additional 300 customer service staff among 500 additional employees.

Other areas Hopper is looking to invest in include data science and start-ups to introduce new product offerings and fuel international expansion.

Earlier this year the firm launched Hopper Cloud, a B2B solution that integrates with travel third parties through API connectivity.

It also has a white label offer for partners who want to get into selling travel products while providing a differentiated customer experience.

Frederic Lalonde, chief executive and co-founder of Hopper, said: “The success of our fintech offerings demonstrate that travellers are willing to pay for flexibility and assurance as they resume traveling again.

“We feel strongly that our fintech offerings through Hopper Cloud can help supercharge the travel industry’s recovery by introducing a totally unique revenue stream for other brands. In fact, if all travel distribution channels offered our fintech, it could increase the total consumer spend for the sector by $200 billion annually.

“We are excited to be partnering with GPI and their distinguished track record of supporting iconic consumer internet companies. We welcome Khai to the board as we execute on a roadmap for sustained growth over the long term.”

Khai Ha, managing partner at GPI Capital, added: “Hopper has created a large market opportunity with unique fintech products for the travel industry that applies an entirely differentiated and attractive business model in which we are excited to work with Fred and the leadership team to accelerate the flywheel.

“The company emerged from a challenging period for the industry, bolstering its technology capabilities, customer service and its opportunity set with a stronger, durable foundation. We are thrilled to be a partner in this category-defining story.”