YGO, a Berlin-based company developing AI infrastructure for the travel sector, announced on October 21, 2026 that it has closed a €8 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by Ventech, with participation from Sake Bosch, Caesar Capital, and business angels. The capital will support YGO's plans to expand beyond the DACH region and help travel suppliers adapt to AI-powered distribution.
Modernizing Legacy Travel Infrastructure
YGO positions itself as a neutral AI orchestration layer that sits between travel companies and their existing booking systems. Its platform structures fragmented hotel and product information so AI systems can understand available offerings. This allows travel brands to add capabilities such as semantic search, personalized recommendations, and automated booking without rebuilding their technology stack.
Reducing Intermediary Dependence
The travel industry remains heavily reliant on online travel agencies and metasearch platforms, which often keep between 15% and 25% of each booking. As travelers increasingly move toward AI assistants for planning and purchasing trips, YGO enables suppliers to reconnect directly with customers. The company says this approach helps brands protect margins and retain control over customer relationships.
Leadership Perspective
Julian Kögel, co-founder and CEO of YGO, said travel is one of the last major industries still built on infrastructure that was never designed for an AI-first world. He explained that YGO was created to give the travel industry the infrastructure to make its inventory accessible, bookable, and ready for AI. The company supports this through both its customers' own platforms and external AI agents.
Early Traction Among European Travel Companies
YGO already processes bookings for European travel companies including Condor, Bentour, and GetAway Group. The company reports that one airline client achieved a 90% reduction in manual operations and a 20% increase in conversion rates. Another customer saw its average order value rise 2.4 times without adding headcount. These early results are part of a broader effort to demonstrate measurable gains for travel suppliers.
Scaling an AI-Ready Booking Layer
The company has grown annual recurring revenue to more than €1 million within six months and has processed more than €15 million in bookings through its infrastructure to date. This commercial momentum reflects rising demand from suppliers that want to make inventory available to both their own digital channels and external AI agents. Ralf Usbeck, founder of TravelTainment and Peakwork, has joined the team to strengthen industry expertise.
Funding Priorities and Market Ambition
The fresh funding will be used to expand YGO's sales and go-to-market activities, develop its AI platform, and convert its existing pipeline into signed accounts. The company is targeting both enterprise customers and mid-sized travel companies as it moves beyond the DACH region. Ventech Partner Nicolas Barthalon said YGO's customers are already re-owning their customer relationships with AI and showing measurable KPI gains.
YGO's Series A round arrives as the travel sector faces a structural shift from traditional search to AI-powered discovery and booking. The company's infrastructure is designed to make existing travel inventory accessible and bookable across legacy systems and emerging AI assistants. With new capital and experienced leadership, YGO aims to become the neutral layer connecting travel suppliers to the next generation of distribution.