AI-powered travel tech company that automates online operations and booking management for hotels and vacation rental businesses is scaling up to build a company with over €1 billion in turnover.
Travel technology company Smartness has closed a €47 million Series B funding round. The round includes primary and secondary equity as well as a debt component. The total capital raised since its founding now exceeds €60 million, after earlier 2023 €13 million Series A round.
The round was led by United Ventures and CDP Venture Capital. Existing investor Partech also participated. Partech previously led the company’s Series A. Other earlier investors include Techshop, the founders of Bending Spoons, Azimut and Rialto.
Fabio Pirovano, partner at United Ventures, noted: “Our investment in Smartness stems from the calibre of a founding team that combines first-hand knowledge of the hospitality sector with a clear product vision, and from the company’s ability to develop diverse and complementary solutions, all designed to improve the operational efficiency and experience of industry professionals. In a market that is evolving from pure software to technologies capable of performing tasks on behalf of the customer, Smartness has all the elements to establish itself as a European category leader: a trajectory that fits seamlessly into our investment strategy and which we intend to support in its international expansion.”
Smartness develops AI-based SaaS solutions for the hospitality sector. The company started with a single product focused on pricing. It later expanded into CRM, payments, property management systems, guest communication and operational AI tools.
The company operates in more than 40 countries and has over 5,000 customers. It reports monthly organic growth of about 10%, excluding acquisitions.
Since its Series A round, Smartness has grown more than sixfold. The company said it plans to support future growth through organic expansion and acquisitions in Europe. It has already completed several M&A transactions. For instance, in 2025, Smartness acquired MyComp digital agency specializing in web consulting, revenue, digital marketing and management solutions for hotels and resorts.
Luca Rodella, CEO and co-founder of Smartness, said: “We see an opportunity to become one of the leading global players in our sector and the leading provider of AI technology for hotels and non-hotel accommodation. A structural shift is underway: from simply providing software to delivering tangible results. We embarked on this journey back in 2020, taking direct responsibility for our clients’ performance. The figures today are proving us right. If we look at the leading global SaaS players in the hospitality sector, we have been among the fastest, if not the fastest, ever to reach – and significantly exceed – €10 million in turnover. We believe we have what it takes to quickly reach €100 million in revenue and, over time, build a company with over €1 billion in turnover.”
Travel startup funding had been muted throughout 2019-2023, during the pandemic and post-Covid period when cross-border journeys and tourism in general were largely put on hold. In 2025, international tourist arrivals to Europe moderately increased, reaching +14-16% in some countries, though regional average remained modest (about 3% year-on-year in H1).
Since the sector remained subdued for a while, many processes in hospitality sector remain less automated than among many other business peers. However, as travel spending, hence also travel business profits, increased by almost 10% last year, many hospitality operators now gave a chance to boost their tech solutions (e.g. pricing tools, AI, premium services, etc).
Current innovation trends in hospitality include:
- AI-based pricing and personalisation
- automation of bookings and customer service
- tools for business travel and expense management
- sustainability and carbon tracking
That gives startups like Smartness a competitive edge. Other recent notable fundraising events in the European travel tech segment are Dutch Mews’s €255 million Series D, UK’s Vuelo and Alpha, raising €64 million Seed round and €2.9 million at pre-Seed stage, respectively, as well as German Nesto raising €11 million in growth equity.
