Berlin, July 6th, 2017. Comtravo closed an €8.5 million Series A financing round co-led by Berlin-based VC Project A and Swedish VC fund Creandum. The AI business travel platform makes booking and managing business trips as simple as sending an email. With the new funding, Comtravo will accelerate their product development and open the door for future international expansion.

Comtravo’s software translates text requests such as email into structured queries using natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence technology to provide the best travel options for individual travelers based on specified preferences as well as previous booking behavior. This way, users can quickly book personalized offers with one click directly in the email.

For small- and medium-sized companies, which account for two thirds of the global business travel market, Comtravo offers an easy-to-use and cost-efficient solution to manage business travel with the additional benefit of a centralized billing system.

“Comtravo is combining the best talent in the space with cutting-edge technology and excellent execution. A perfect mix to tackle a market with huge potential for disruption,” says Anton Waitz, Partner at Project A. “We have been using the product for more than a year and we love it.”

Simon Schmincke, Principal at Creandum adds: “We were immediately convinced by the idea and the implementation. Much of the innovation that already exists in the leisure travel market is still missing in the business travel market. Comtravo has the strongest team in artificial intelligence and travel technology to revolutionize business travel.”

Focusing on research and development in the last year and a half, Comtravo’s technology has evolved to the point that more than 35% of the travel requests are processed fully automated. Experienced travel experts constantly train the software and ensure a superior customer experience. Comtravo combines the services of a classic travel agency with the efficiency of online tools.

“It makes no sense at all that very well-trained travel agents are concerned about simple standard requests, as it is the case in many classic travel agencies. Thanks to our technology, our agents on average need one third of the time that is required in a fully manual process,” explains Michael Riegel, CEO of Comtravo. “At the same time, Comtravo is able to bundle the demand of small- and medium-sized companies to negotiate better conditions for its customers like a purchasing group.”