Hong Kong-based travel services booking platform, Klook, announced earlier today that it has secured US$225 million in a series D+ round, adding up to its total Series D round at US$425 million.
This new round of funding will give the company the firepower to compete with rivals in Asia’s fast-growing activities booking market. The deal which is described as a “Series D+” came just eight months after Klook announced its US$200 million Series D at a valuation of over US$1 billion.
Founded in 2014, the company offers online booking services for local tours and other activities, a fast-growing segment of the travel industry that has yet to be dominated by the major online travel agents. Klook claims to provide 100,000 activities across more than 270 destinations. Its team has grown to over 1,000 staff with 20 offices, including sites in Europe and the States.
This global market is projected to grow nearly 50% from 2015 to be worth US$183 billion in 2020, according to Phocuswright.
The company also claims that this round is the most massive investment in the travel services industry and it intends to use the investment to scale its operations geographically and continue growing its business in its existing markets in Asia. One key focus is in Japan, where the company will increase its investments in Tokyo, in anticipation of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
This new round means that Klook has now raised a total of US$425 million. Its investors include Sequoia China, Matrix Partners, Goldman Sachs, OurCrowd, Boyu Capital, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) among others.