Travel Technology Startup 'Guiddoo' Raises USD 800K in Pre-Series A Funding

Guiddoo, a one-stop shop for in-destination experiences, has secured capital of $800,000 (6 CR. approx.) in the Pre-Series A funding, held in July this year. The funding was led by global investors including Rennie Ratadia (Singapore), Stephen Dmello (Dubai) & Angshuman Sarkar (India). Guiddoo aims to leverage the fresh funding to expand operations, increase destination reach, product portfolio and to further develop its technology platform. It will strengthen its portfolio by adding new destinations under its 'customised packages' offering and will beef up teams to manage the increase in operations in the Global and Indian Market. In terms of the strategy for business growth, the company aims to commence China operations by Feb 2019. Another focus area will be to build a pan India distribution network for the its Tours & Activities & Holidays products.

Vineet Budki, Co-founder & CEO at Guiddoo said, "From starting afresh after a pivot from the Audio Guide Business Model to garnering 700% YOY revenue growth in the Tours & Activities business, and securing fresh funding from our trusted investors, it has been an incredible journey. It is a reflection of our commitment to make significant contribution to the India Outbound Travel space by delivering innovative product enhancements."

He added, "We are delighted to have secured this significant bridge round of funding. The capital raised will help us expand our footprint, augment our infrastructure and acquire promising talent to implement the blueprint. We are motivated more than ever to build robust products and extend the best services possible to our consumers."

"We are excited to invest in Guiddoo in their endeavour to bring best-in-class, digital in-destination experiences to travel enthusiasts. We are confident of the team's potential and are looking forward to the company's growth story in the near future," said Stephen DMello who runs successful Investment, Real Estate & Trading businesses in Middle East and Asia.

"Having been an avid traveller, I saw Indian tourists in all parts of the world. Guiddoo presents me with a great opportunity to tap into outbound Indian tourists, I see great potential in this segment with more and more Indians travelling abroad Every Year," says Rennie Ratadia, Global Investor.

Incepted in 2013, the startup has been actively helping travellers by providing seamless services so that they can make the most of their trips. Guiddoo offers an array of services like Guided Tours and Activities, Dining, Entertainment and Shopping as add-ons to the Indian Outbound travellers and curates special packages for them which are unique to the Indian travellers, and are different from the global products in experience, culinary habits and prices among others.

The Guiddoo app is available on both Android iOS platforms and has a robust web platform for its Travel Agent network. Guiddoo offers its Tours & Activities across 11 international destinations through 4000+ Travel Agents across India and also has institutional partners including Cleartrip & Yatra.

About Guiddoo

Guiddoo World is a one-stop shop for in-destination experiences. With over 4000+ Travel agents, 5000+ excursions, 20000+ Customers Handled and 11 destinations, Guiddoo offers an array of services like Tours and Activities, Dining, Entertainment and Shopping as add-ons to the Indian Outbound travellers and curates special packages for them. It was established in June 2013 by Vineet, Nidhi, Prashant and Biswajeet in the form of an App only Audio Guiding Product from In5 Dubai, and later pivoted to the current tours and activities model in 2017 focusing and being based in India. With 100,000+ activities handled and 40000 + customers and a 20X growth in revenue in the last 18 months, Guiddoo is making rapid foray into the Indian travel market.

Guiddoo is a Technology driven product with the Team trying to disrupt the travel industry and the In-Destination segment with innovative technology usage like Big Data Decision Making, Smart Product Rating Index and Consumer Behavior mapping using Machine Learning among other.