It’s a great day for Belgium-born startups! Earlier, we reported on Odoo’s impressive €500 million secondary capital transaction, led by renowned investors CapitalG and Sequoia Capital. Now, Lighthouse, originally founded in Belgium and now headquartered in the UK, has raised a $370 million Series C. This latest raise crowns the AI-powered hotel software provider as a unicorn.
The funding round was led by global investment firm KKR (known for its investment in Semperis, Byju’s, and more) through its Next Generation Technology III Fund. Existing backers, including Spectrum Equity, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, and Highgate Technology Ventures, also participated.
This latest round builds on the $80 million Series B raised in November 2021. Notably, this is considered one of the largest funding rounds for a startup headquartered in London and among the biggest in the travel sector this year.
How does it plan to use the investment?
The company will use this investment for next-generation data and AI capabilities that will give customers access to tools that deliver real business impact. This will bring deeper insights, advanced automation, and a more seamless user experience. All these aspects will help hotels and hospitality businesses compete and win in the dynamic marketplace.
Also, the company will be able to expand its team, offering new opportunities for growth, acquisitions, and professional development.
Overall, the investment accelerates Lighthouse’s mission to reimagine commercial strategy for the $15 billion travel and hospitality technology market.
From Belgium beginnings to global ambitions
Founded in 2012 as OTA Insight in Ghent, Belgium by Gino Engels and Matthias Geeroms, Lighthouse set out to solve one of the hospitality industry’s persistent challenges: managing bookings, pricing, and revenue efficiently. Eventually, it relocated its HQ to London and now provides an end-to-end platform for hotels, B&Bs, and large chains to streamline operations using AI-driven tools for pricing, booking management, and business intelligence.
AI is leaving its impact on almost all industries and travel and hospitality has not been spared. Each time you book a hotel or AirBnB, AI is determining the optimal price and Lighthouse is likely behind it.
Lighthouse is a technology platform that turns data complexity into revenue growth. It gives you the power to discover hidden insights, capture missed opportunities, and move faster while working smarter. It serves hoteliers and short-term rental operators across 185 countries. The platform consolidates data from 700,000 hotels and 19 million rental properties worldwide.
The platform is underpinned by proprietary technology that processes over 400 terabytes of travel and market data daily and leverages AI to deliver real-time insights that enable customers to make better and more efficient operational decisions.
Acquisitions
The company has made strategic acquisitions such as Transparent, Kriya RevGen, and Stardekk. Transparent brought expertise in short-term rental analytics, enabling deeper insights into this growing market segment. Kriya RevGen enhanced its revenue management capabilities. The recent acquisition of Stardekk brought an all-in-one hotel software for managing reservations and more.
Competition
While facing competition from platforms like STR, Duetto, and Amadeus Hospitality, Lighthouse stands out by combining hotel and rental insights, offering AI-driven tools, and integrating acquisitions for enriched data sets. This combination uniquely supports both traditional hospitality players and the growing short-term rental market.
“We’re extremely grateful to the 70,000+ hospitality providers, who have placed their trust in Lighthouse,” said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of Lighthouse. “I couldn’t be more energised by what we’re working towards. We’re just getting started in making hospitality data and tools more powerful, accessible, and affordable. This investment by KKR significantly accelerates our ability to enhance our commercial platform through expanded AI capabilities and additional data sets, enabling us to better serve our existing customers while continuing to expand across the hospitality market.”
“Lighthouse has demonstrated an exceptional ability to support hoteliers of all sizes – ranging from global chains to independent properties – by addressing the unique needs of each segment,” said Stephen Shanley, Partner and Head of Tech Growth in Europe at KKR. “Their strong track record, customer loyalty, and proven ability to deliver value across varied markets position them as the leading platform in this space. We are proud to support Lighthouse in expanding its global footprint, driving continued innovation, and enhancing its market leading offerings.”
Lighthouse joins an elite list of unicorns minted in 2024, including UK-based period tracking app Flo, German gym software provider Egym, and French AI startup Poolside. This achievement underscores Europe’s growing influence in the global tech landscape.
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