Otto, a company that is building an intelligent and autonomous AI travel agent for business travelers, announced that it has raised a $6 million seed round led by Madrona Ventures, with participation from Direct Travel and angel investors from across the business travel industry like Erik Blachford (former CEO of Expedia), IAC Travel and Couchsurfing; Barney Harford (former CEO of Orbitz and COO of Uber); and Hugh Crean (CEO of Operix and former CEO of Farecast-acquired by Microsoft).
Otto aims to create a travel assistant that plans, books and supports you during the trip. Otto utilizes the latest in AI models and methods that learn from a business traveler their likes and preferences, from their favorite airline, specific flights, and preferred hotels to other travel details. And Otto will also provide on-trip support as flights and plans change while in transit.
With a focused on business travelers who do not have a contracted corporate travel partner (known as unmanaged business travelers), Otto will integrate with key service providers across the business travel industry, including Spotnana and Direct Travel.
Steve Singh – the founder of business travel and expense leader SAP Concur and managing director at Madrona – collaborated with Madrona Venture Labs to conceive and prototype Otto. For example, Steve led the investment for Madrona and will serve as the Executive Chairman. And Michael Gulmann (Otto’s founder and CEO) brings over a decade of travel industry product, marketing, and sales experience as the former Chief Product Officer and SVP of marketing of Egencia and SVP/CPO of Consumer Products of Expedia Group.
KEY QUOTES:
“The advent of AI is going to bring massive changes to the travel industry. We are excited to apply our deep understanding of the infrastructure of the travel industry to help build an AI agent for frequent business and leisure travelers who today are either scheduling their own trips or working with a trusted human executive assistant to do so.”
- Steve Singh
“We are thrilled to partner with Madrona and Steve, who bring deep expertise and experience in the travel industry and enterprise software. With a Spotnana integration and a partnership with Direct Travel, Otto is set to transform the way business travelers plan and book their trips. By providing a personalized, convenient, and smart travel assistant that understands their needs and preferences, Otto is ushering in a new era of travel.”
- Michael Gulmann
