With second close from M12 and Joop Drechsel, Comtravo increases its Series B to €30 million

Comtravo, a Berlin-based B2B traveltech startup, has announced a second close of its Series B round, adding €9 million from Microsoft’s venture fund M12 and Joop Drechsel. The round, which initially closed in September 2019 with investments from Endeit Capital, Deutsche Bank, creandum, Project A, btov, AER Ticket and Jan Valentin, now stands at €30 million. Comtravo is building an end-to-end solution that simplifies the process of booking and managing business trips by automating manual processes step by step. The system consists of three sets of technologies: setting up a backend to offer cheap fares through direct connections; using natural language processing (NLP) to automatically process text messages; and a recommendation algorithm that is based on artificial intelligence to provide customers with personalized options based on their preferences. There’s a human element, too. Comtravo still offers conventional travel booking options, like email or phone, to satisfy traditional businesses that aren’t as adept with online tools. Currently the German startup serves 900 small and medium-sized businesses, mainly in the DACH region. Of the 110 person team, about 50 are working on the technology. “Comtravo is disrupting the huge business travel market through deep automation and unique access to travel providers,” said Lior Litwak, Partner at M12. “We were very impressed with the company’s vision of increasing efficiencies for both businesses and travel agents without compromising on high-quality service and traveler experience. We are thrilled to join Michael, Jannik and Marko on their path to position Comtravo as a global leader in business travel innovation.” In addition to investing in the startup, Joop Drechsel, the former CEO of BCD Travel, will join the board. He commented: “Given my long history and vast experience in the business travel world, I’ve always been intrigued by the opportunities the SME business segment provides. I believe Comtravo has a uniquely strong combination of cutting-edge technology combined with a human touch.”