Skyscanner is a travel search engine that aggregates travel search queries for consumers. Founded in 2003 and based in Edinburgh, the site is used by about 50 million people every month. The company has expanded aggressively into Asia through partnerships with Baidu and Yahoo! Japan, opening three offices (two in China and one in Singapore) and acquiring Chinese travel search startup Youbibi. Skyscanner faces competition from Kayak, Expedia, Qunar, Ctrip and Google Flights. The company announced a £128 million ($192 million) funding round to support international expansion and make acquisitions. The round included both primary and secondary proceeds and was tied to a reported $1.6 billion valuation per the Financial Times. Management said part of the proceeds will provide liquidity to some shareholders without requiring full exits. Skyscanner operates a fast, reliable flight comparison engine and has expanded its offering into hotel booking and car rentals. The company has pushed heavily into mobile, with apps downloaded over 25 million times and its website drawing more than 25 million unique visitors per month. Skyscanner reported turnovers of $30 million and $10 million in profits in the prior year and has grown more than 100% year‑over‑year over the past four years. It acquired Barcelona‑based Fogg to strengthen hotel search and booking capabilities and recently launched its car rental engine in 150 markets. The company has more than doubled its staff in the last 12 months and plans to double again to around 500 employees over the next year. Skyscanner opened a new Miami office to serve as its North American headquarters as it expands into the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

Total raised

$184M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2016