Start-up Smartguide closes crowdfunding bid after raising $930,000

Smartphone tourist guide app achieved 170% of target from 379 investors

European travel tech start-up SmartGuide has raised $930,000 to make the distribution of tours cheaper and more digital.

A total of 379 investors invested 170% of the sought funds in the crowdfunding campaign that has now closed.

SmartGuide technology turns phones into a contactless personal tour guide and the platform now covers almost 500 destinations on five continents.

The firm works with the likes of the Singapore National Board, Prague City Tourism, Deutsche Bahn and numerous UNESCO sights to publish their guides on SmartGuide.

SmartGuide reported it grew 700% in 2020 despite the COVID pandemic and broke the 300,000 user mark.

It has recently signed a contract with Switzerland Tourism to publish guides for 24 Swiss cities.

The app navigates their visitors using audio, geolocation and Augmented Reality like a live guide helping them to avoid crowds and be safe from COVID-19.

SmartGuide was founded by travellers, businessmen and technologists with a mission to turn all tourists into explorers.

Chief executive Jan Dolezal says he was tired of guidebooks and hardware audio guides and decided to create a platform that would allow everybody to publish their own guide online.

“The internet revolution created YouTube to publish a video, Spotify to publish a song, WordPress to publish a blog and now there is SmartGuide to publish a tour guide.

“The tour guide digitisation is an inevitable trend and we have built the best team and technology to bring this to travellers across the globe”

“Our ultimate goal is to build the world’s leading digital tour guide marketplace.”