Byway secures £5M in Series A funding to invest in its journey-based travel technology and expand into new markets
LONDON, July 2024 – Byway the travel tech startup and B Corporation championing flight-free travel, has raised £5 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The round was led by Heartcore Capital, with participation from Eka Ventures and re-investing Byway angels. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of Byway’s unique journey-planning technology, JourneyAI, and to fuel its expansion into new regions.
As the demand for sustainable travel continues to grow (76% want to travel more sustainably1 and 47% plan to fly less2), Byway is at the forefront of making flight-free holidays mainstream. Since its launch in March 2020, Byway has grown three times year-on-year. With an average carbon saving of 718kg per trip, Byway’s customers have saved 3,045 tonnes of carbon vs flying (equivalent to 18,270 trees) and 95% have rated Byway 5/5 stars.
Byway’s innovative JourneyAI technology is the world’s first 100% flight-free holiday planner. It integrates transport and accommodation data with expert place- and journey-based content into a smart dynamic packaging engine that designs multi-stop, personalised trips away from tourist hotspots. JourneyAI optimises trips for enjoyment rather than speed, enriching holiday experiences for travellers and making the journey part of the trip instead of a means to an end.
The recent funding round was led by Heartcore Capital, which invests in tech companies that bring happiness and enchantment to the world and has led investments in GetYourGuide, Travelperk, and Fora. Eka Ventures, which focuses on sustainable consumption, also participated, along with re-investing Byway angels, including the HERmesa angel syndicate, impact investor, Julia Davies, and Susan Hooper, former SAGA CEO.
With the new investment, Byway plans to expand its team, launch new markets and further develop its flight-free travel technology. Over the coming months, Byway will launch roles in tech, product, finance, business development and customer support, keep an eye on our jobs page and follow us on LinkedIn for job announcements.
“It was a delight to experience such overwhelming interest from investors enthusiastic about the future of flight-free travel when raising our Series A. I’m thrilled that in Heartcore and Eka we’ve found partners who believe in the joy of journey-based holidays and the potential of JourneyAI to change travel for the better,” said Cat Jones, CEO and Founder of Byway.
Max Niederhofer, General Partner of Heartcore Capital, added: “Heartcore has been investing in world-class founders building the future of travel for over a decade. We felt called to support Byway’s mission to make tourism both more fulfilling and sustainable, and believe that its technology will become a key pillar for the next generation of online travel. We are thrilled to be supporting another world-class European team in travel and particularly love Byway’s collaborative, supportive, and holistic mission-driven culture.”
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About Byway
Byway is the first 100% flight-free dynamic holiday planning technology. Each multi-stop journey is personalised for the holidaymaker, and optimised for quality of experience instead of speed. Founded in 2020 by Cat Jones, Byway offers trips across Europe, including overland transport, hand-picked accommodation, and on-demand expert advice, all with a low carbon footprint. Byway is a certified B Corp and a member of Travel by B Corp, a collective of B Corp certified travel companies.
About Heartcore Capital
Heartcore Capital is a European venture capital investment firm with a top-decile track, having backed companies such as Tink (acquired by VISA), Peakon (acquired by Workday), and Boozt (NASDAQ OMX). The firm invested in the early-stage rounds of GetYourGuide, now the world’s largest in-destination tours & activities marketplace, TravelPerk, Europe’s largest B2B corporate
travel booking platform, Roadsurfer, the world’s largest campervan rental and outdoor travel company, as well as Fora, a next-generation travel agency. Byway is its fifth early-stage travel investment.
About Eka Ventures
Eka Ventures is an early stage venture fund that is integrating impact investing into mainstream venture capital. They believe the most successful businesses of the next generation will redefine our business systems to be more sustainable, healthier & inclusive. They invest in
category-defining direct-to-consumer companies and the companies building technology that enables incumbent brands to make this change. Eka was founded by Jon Coker and Camilla Dolan who have over 20 years of experience working in Venture Capital and have backed some of the biggest and most exciting Consumer tech companies of the last 10 years. The Eka portfolio includes Runna, Hived, Sourceful, Jude and Axle Energy.
About flight-free travel
The carbon impact of rail travel is 14g of CO2 per passenger mile, compared to 285g for air: you could get the train from London to Edinburgh and back five times and your carbon footprint would still be lower than if you flew there. Byway trips are not just about reducing carbon, but the wider benefits of travelling sustainably: avoiding hotspots, staying in locally run accommodation; getting to know the places you visit and enjoying the freedom and unexpectedness of travelling overland.
