Italian startup WeRoad raises €18M to scale millennial adventure travel

WeRoad, a Milanese traveltech startup specifically targeting millennials, has secured €18 million in a Series B round. Operating in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, the startup intends to use the investment to further develop and scale its offer, ultimately targeting a few more stamps in its passport, particularly that of the US.

Since the beginning of 2017 the traveltech has clocked €36 million on the odometer.

H14

WeRoad’s Series B round was led by H14, the Italian family office headed by Luigi and Barbara Berlusconi, children of Italy’s late Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and additional undisclosed parties through a special purpose vehicle.

Positives and negatives

With no shortage of startups looking to cash in on the $750 billion annual market that is global adventure travel, WeRoad’s USP lies in specifically catering to a demographic that can often be defined by their love of the experience over the possession and diehard travelers.

Millennials and GenZ’s are also often portrayed as the loneliest of generations.

Tapping into the positive and mitigating the negative, WeRoad’s approach combines adventures to far-off lands with the opportunity to meet and mingle with like-minded travelers, all led by a travel coordinator.

UGC

For those that want an even further individualised experience, the company offers WeRoadX, a marketplace where travel coordinators can create self-designed itineraries that add to WeRoad’s daily menu. First launched in WeRoad’s home market of Italy in 2023, the initiative has seen the creation of some 200+ new routes and itineraries to 50 previously unoffered destinations.

As a traveltech that was founded in 2017, WeRoad’s resilience through the pandemic is commendable, a factor that certainly must have played a part in investors’ minds when cutting the cheque.

WeRoad CEO Andrea D’Amico shared:

“This round doubles our total investment to date and is a strong endorsement by both existing and new investors of the WeRoad success story. In just five years, and despite a global pandemic, we’ve managed to capture the group adventure travel market. 

“And over the past 12 months, we've not only doubled our turnover but also significantly enhanced our future growth potential by increasing our community of travel coordinators in Europe from 1,200 to 2,500, paving the way for an exciting future.”

Lead image via WeRoad.