Musement acquires Triposo in move to create an ‘all inclusive’ in-destination experiences platform
Milan/Amsterdam, October 10th 2017
Musement, the travel tech startup that lets users discover and book local tours and attractions, today announced the acquisition of travel content platform Triposo. The deal brings together more than 12 million travelers across both platforms and strengthens Musement’s global footprint. Triposo CEO Nishank Gopalkrishnan will maintain his role and join Musement’s leadership team to oversee the company’s strategic B2B partnerships.
Founded in 2013 in Milan, Italy by Paolo Giulini, Claudio Bellinzona, Alessandro Petazzi and Fabio Zecchini, Musement was launched on the premise that travelers typically book hotels, flights and rental cars online prior to their departure, but usually leave the actual holiday activities and attractions to be planned in the destination. Musement carefully curates travel experiences for users to discover and book, allowing them to take hassle-free holidays, save time at their destination, and come home with the best memories. In less than 4 years, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest platforms for in-destination travel experiences.
With over 10 million downloads of its apps, more than 40% of which are from North America and Western Europe, Triposo is a smart travel content platform that uses machine learning algorithms to peruse the web and crunch through millions of websites and reviews, centralizing them in one platform. The company, which raised venture capital from InterWest Partners and others, aggregates travel content for 200 countries, 50,000 destinations and 5 million points of interest, and applies machine learning to let its users discover what’s most relevant to them.
"Today's news is a major milestone for Musement’s users and partners alike," said Alessandro Petazzi, co-founder and CEO at Musement. "Our vision is to build the best in-destination activities discovery and booking platform. Triposo's machine learning technology, which serves hyper-personalized content to users, combined with Musement's discovery and booking technology service for travel, are a natural fit. Through this partnership, we're bringing an amazing team and cutting-edge technology in-house, significantly enhancing the overall experience for our users and creating new revenue opportunities for hundreds of local travel partners.”
Triposo's technology integration is expected to be completed in the next few months and will allow Musement to offer a more intuitive and personalized experience to its users in real time. The integration means Musement will offer hyper-personalized travel content and booking options to its users across multiple verticals - from guided tours and museums, to food & wine and spa & wellness options - and also across multiple touch-points; the B2C Musement and Triposo websites and apps, and the joint B2B APIs, which travel partners can integrate in their websites.
Commenting on the acquisition, Nishank Gopalkrishnan, Triposo CEO said, "We are very excited to join the Musement team and to join forces with Musement, powering one of the world´s largest and fastest growing platforms for in-destination experiences with Triposo’s award-winning machine learning technology. Together, I am confident that we can offer our users the best content, and provide our partners with monetization opportunities at scale.”
The $135 billion tours and activities market continues to see innovation and consolidation, with today’s acquisition following a series of big moves such as Tripadvisor’s acquisition of Viator in 2014, and more recently Peek’s acquisition of Zozi in April 2017.
Keval Desai, Partner at InterWest Partners said: “As an investor and traveler, I am excited at the possibilities that this partnership opens up for travelers worldwide. Now that we all carry a powerful supercomputer in our pockets, it makes sense to leverage that technology and bring back the joy of spontaneous discovery into our travel experiences. With the combination of Musement and Triposo, we can all look forward to saying goodbye to tedious planning before we embark on our journey and simply look forward to the delights that await us when we arrive at our destination.”
Triposo will continue operating from Amsterdam, adding an extra location to Musement’s existing offices in Milan, London, Barcelona, New York and Dubai. As part of the deal, InterWest Partners has joined the company as a shareholder. Musement raised a total of $18 million from Paris based 360 Capital Partners, Milan based P101 and others.
About Musement
Launched in Milan in 2013, Musement is a travel discovery and booking service that allows users to get the best from their travel destinations by providing a great choice of local tours and attractions to discover and book. More than just ‘things to do’, its range includes temporary, exclusive, hidden-gem and even free activities. Unlike most travel platforms, Musement offers content and booking options across multiple verticals - from guided tours and museums, to food & wine - and multiple touch-points; the B2C Musement and Triposo websites and apps, and the joint B2B APIs. www.musement.com
About Triposo
Triposo is a smart travel content platform. A clever algorithm peruses the web and crunches through millions of websites and reviews. The Triposo travel guide app is the best showcase of the platform. It allows travellers to choose their favorite hotels, sights, activities and restaurants and add them to their bucket list. www.triposo.com