Travel season is upon us, and travel startups are reeling in the big bucks. This past week, the Chicago tech community witnessed several investments in travel companies as well as a large $60 million investment in an e-commerce startup. Read up on this and more Chicago tech news with the Built In Chicago Weekly Refresh.
Tandym launched with $60M. The fintech startup partners with e-commerce brands that make under $1 million in revenue to help them offer credit lines and credit cards to their customers. The $60 million in funding is split into $10 million in equity and $50 million in debt financing. With the new capital, the Chicago-based startup is planning to add 10 new employees to its 14-person team. [Built In Chicago]
Tripscout launched Instagram hotel booking chatbot. Tripscout started as a trip-planning platform, but now it will let customers book hotel rooms at discounted rates through Instagram. To book a room, customers must send a private DM to Tripscout’s Instagram, where they will be provided a link to browse hotel rooms. With the launch, the company also announced that it raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Corazon Capital. [Chicago Inno]
CHICAGO QUOTE OF THE WEEK
A Chicago travel data startup raised $10M. Chicago-based Journera helps marketers and travel agencies find potential travelers. The startup was founded by Jeffrey Katz, the former CEO and president of Orbitz. Journera has raised $30.6 million in venture funding since launching in 2016. [Built In Chicago]
A Chicago publishing company received funding. Chicago-based e-publishing secured an investment from JB Captial, an alternative credit investment firm. EPublishing is a SaaS software company that provides solutions for online publishing such as content management, audience management and e-commerce solutions. [Business Wire]
Guild Education reached a $4.4B valuation. With a $175 million Series F round, Guild Education is now valued at $4.4 billion. The Series F round, which was led by Wellington Management with participation from Oprah Winfrey and others, comes one year after the company raised a $150 million round. Based in Colorado with a presence in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Guild Education partners with employees to offer education-based benefits. [Denver Business Journal]