YGO raises €8m to expand AI travel platform beyond DACH

YGO secures €8m Series A led by Ventech

YGO has raised €8 million in Series A funding to support the expansion of its AI travel infrastructure business, Tech.eu reports. Ventech led the round, with Sake Bosch, Caesar Capital and business angels also investing.

The company connects travel businesses with airlines, hotels and tour operators. Rather than asking customers to replace their existing technology, YGO provides infrastructure that adds AI search, recommendations, customer service and booking functions to the systems they already use, according to Tech.eu.

Connecting fragmented travel inventory to AI booking channels

Founded by Julian Kögel, Willi Ibbeken and Sebastian Kreutzberger, YGO tackles a practical obstacle to automated travel sales: hotel and travel product information is fragmented. Its technology organises that information into a form that AI systems can interpret and use, Tech.eu reports.

That processing supports searches based on meaning rather than exact keywords, personalised recommendations and automated reservations across flights, accommodation and activities. YGO connects suppliers to established booking channels as well as emerging AI assistants, allowing the same travel inventory to serve different routes to purchase.

The commercial backdrop is the travel sector’s dependence on online travel agencies and metasearch platforms. According to Tech.eu, these intermediaries typically retain between 15 and 25 per cent of a booking’s value. Those charges make distribution a significant consideration for suppliers seeking to improve the economics of each sale.

YGO already processes bookings for European travel businesses including Condor, Bentour and GetAway Group, Tech.eu reports. Ralf Usbeck, founder of TravelTainment and Peakwork, has also joined the team, bringing experience in technology that connects tour operators, airlines and hotel providers. The source does not specify his role at YGO.

YGO sets out its case for supplier-controlled distribution

YGO’s stated aim is to give travel suppliers greater control over customer relationships and help them improve margins by connecting directly to AI-powered booking channels, according to Tech.eu. That is the company’s proposition, rather than evidence that every customer will achieve a particular financial return.

The company argues that much of travel’s underlying technology was not built for a market in which AI can handle discovery and purchasing. Its position, reported by Tech.eu, is that suppliers need to make their inventory available for transactions through both their own services and external AI agents.

YGO also reports operational gains among existing customers. According to figures cited by Tech.eu, one airline customer reduced manual operations by 90 per cent and increased conversion rates by 20 per cent. A separate customer recorded a 2.4-fold increase in average order value without increasing its workforce. The customers behind those results were not identified in the supplied reporting.

Sales investment will support expansion beyond DACH

YGO will put the new capital towards sales and go-to-market activity, further platform development and customer growth beyond DACH — Germany, Austria and Switzerland — Tech.eu reports. Its target market includes both enterprise buyers and mid-sized travel companies, rather than only the largest operators.

Tech.eu’s report does not name the next countries YGO will enter or give a launch timetable. It therefore establishes an international growth plan, but not a confirmed UK launch or a country-by-country European rollout.

For travel companies expanding across Europe, the proposed model offers a way to test AI-led distribution while retaining existing booking infrastructure. The expansion question is whether YGO can translate its reported customer results into demand from a wider range of suppliers and markets; the Series A gives it funding to pursue that commercial rollout.