Reservation technology provider for the multi-day travel Kaptio, has announced a whole host of changes, including new funding and new psrtnerships.
The firm revealed it is now backed by a private equity investor with new funding.
VEX, a growth equity fund based in Iceland, has acquired a 70% stake in Kaptio, alongside prominent investors Birgir Ragnarsson, Björn Karlsson, and Jóhann Ólafur Jónsson, founders of Annata, and others. As part of the transaction, Kaptio will issue new shares worth $2.5M USD.
Key shareholders Frumtak Ventures, New Business Venture Fund (a startup fund owned by the Icelandic government), and Kaptio’s co-founder Arnar Laufdal Ólafsson are among the primary sellers.
As the company’s first new round of funding post-pandemic, the support will accelerate the execution of Kaptio’s strategy and will support its product development, broaden its global sales and marketing in key markets, strengthen its global cloud operations, and seed new innovation programs with our customers.
“Kaptio has developed an outstanding technology platform for the multi-day travel industry, and we’ve laid the foundation for continued innovation to meet the growing demands of the market,” said Viðar Svansson, CEO of Kaptio.
“We are grateful for the support of our departing shareholders, and we look forward to collaborating with our new partners, who bring a wealth of experience in building and supporting companies like ours. Their involvement is a testament to the hard work and vision of our employees over the past few years.”
“The team at Kaptio has succeeded in creating a market-leading product in an exciting and dynamic sector. We are entering at what we believe is just the beginning of their growth journey,” says Benedikt Ólafsson, a partner at VEX.
“As anchor investors, we are fully committed to supporting the management’s vision.”
Kaptio announced that it had a strategic partnership with Braintree, a PayPal company, to “transform” the digital landscape of the travel industry by integrating Kaptio’s Salesforce-powered platform and digital commerce platform, designed explicitly for multi-day itineraries and packages.
It will leverage Braintree’s payment system, providing travel operators with a secure and streamlined solution while establishing PayPal as Kaptio’s preferred payment partner.
In addition to onboarding partners such as Audley Travel, Rocky Mountaineer and Railbookers, Kaptio has now teamed up with Australian-based global tour operator Intrepid Travel to digitally transform the company’s travel management and reservation systems.
The firm said this deal may be one of the industry’s largest in terms of global scope and is part of larger market expansion in the APAC region.
“By eliminating manual processes for our teams and streamlining routine tasks, we aim to enhance the overall booking and travel experience for our customers and are excited about the potential growth in both existing and new segments,” said Anu Karunatilaka, chief technology officer of Intrepid Travel.
Tauck, a global leader in exquisite guided travel experiences, has also formed a strategic collaboration with the tech provider that will see Kaptio’s travel SaaS solution, Kaptio Travel, seamlessly integrated into Tauck’s customer engagement and reservation processes.
This will enhance its ability to deliver unparalleled luxury travel experiences to their global, growing customer base.
Both Intrepid Travel and Tauck have signed multi-year commitments with Kaptio.
As part of its new trajectory, Kaptio has also announced a raft of new appointments.
Kaptio is pleased to announce the expansion of its leadership team with the addition
Its leadership team has four new additions.
Gunnar Sigurðsson joins as the new vice president of engineering, bringing with him over a decade of engineering experience and a track record of scale-up success.
In his new role, Sigurðsson will lead a variety of teams that oversee the development, operation, and technical support of Kaptio products.
Sean Banks steps into the newly-created role of director of programme delivery, where his tactical vision and extensive expertise in program management will drive the company’s customer initiatives.
Tracy Sharp has been appointed the new Vice President of Commercial, bringing with her over 30 years of travel industry experience.
Sharp was formerly the director of revenue & supply at Traveltek, where she helped navigate the company into profitability during Covid and has held a variety of high-level commercial roles at Jetline Travel, Broadway and TravelUp in the UK.
Finally, Unnur Ösp Ásgrímsdóttir has moved to the position of vice president of product, where she now manages a variety of teams across the organisation, including Product Management, Product Design, Product Architecture, Release & Quality, and Customer Delivery.
“Kaptio has seen remarkable growth over the past year, both in expanding our team and growing our customer base,” said Ragnar Fjölnisson, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Kaptio.
“As we continue to innovate at the forefront of travel and technology, we’re committed to driving even more growth in the coming year—welcoming new talent, strengthening partnerships, and reaching new milestones.”
