Culture Trip Raises $80 Million in Series B Round
Culture Trip, a regionally focused travel and cultural content portal, has raised $80 million in a series B round of funding led by PPF Group, with participation from a number of individual angel investors.
Founded in 2011, London-based Culture Trip’s goal is to “inspire people to explore the world’s culture and creativity.” To do this, the company offers a website and mobile app featuring words, photos, and videos from an in-house editorial team, in addition to hundreds of paid local contributors around the world.
With hubs in London, New York, and Tel Aviv, Culture Trip had raised around $22 million in funding before now. And with another $80 million in the bank, the company plans to expand its engineering and creative teams to “fuel innovation, drive further audience growth, and roll out various monetization strategies,” according to a statement.
Certainly, $80 million is a sizable chunk of cash for what is a fairly under-the-radar travel content startup, and it further illustrates that larger earlier-stage investment rounds are no longer confined to Silicon Valley. But digital media startups aren’t exactly renowned for their ability to generate large profits, which is why Culture Trip has one eye on expanding beyond content to travel bookings. Later this year, it will hook its content in with direct links to book hotels and other “experience providers.” Culture Trip’s content will effectively serve as the driving force behind its new online travel booking division.
For now, Culture Trip also makes some money through affiliate sales with companies such as ASOS and Amazon, and it also plans to expand its ecommerce offering in future to cover related industries, such as art and fashion.
