As a result of the process, Worldia has convinced three new investors - Credit Mutuel Innovation, Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts), and FrenchFounders - who are aligned with the company's vision for the future of travel. The historical investors Red River West, CapHorn, and RAISE Ventures have also confirmed their confidence in Worldia's growth and potential by participating once again in this new round.
With this latest influx of capital, Worldia is ready to enter a new era of its existence, exciting times lie ahead and here’s a peek at the agenda :
Internationalization :
Worldia has been revolutionizing travel experiences in France over the last years and has successfully started its expansion into the German, Belgian, and Spanish markets at the end of Covid. The scale-up also did a first pilot in the US. Worldia is now ready to accelerate and take on the world, with a goal to make its Cutting-edge dynamic packaging technology available to travel distributors across Europe and North America, unlocking new possibilities for the industry and transforming the way professionals plan, book and operate travel.
Research and development :
Worldia is always pushing the boundaries of what's possible in travel. With a brand new version of its platform finalized, the company now possesses the best technology on the market to redefine the traveler’s experience, and scale its model to €1Bn GMV. It will include the boost of third-party connectivities (in particular with new kinds of products), new AI powered features, operations enhancement, new at destination services and much more in the months and years to come. Innovation is in Worldia’s DNA and the scale-up will always make this value prevail.
Hire new talent (focus on specialists in tech and product) :
As Worldia continues to drive innovation in the travel industry, the company aims to work side by side with talented individuals who embody the brand’s values, its passion for travel, and its acute knowledge of technology. With R&D as a major focus, the scale-up will be on the lookout for experts in these fields to join its team and participate in shaping the future of travel.
“Thanks to this new round of funding, we are excited to continue our mission of transforming the travel industry and unlocking new possibilities for both travel professionals and consumers. We’re ready to make our game-changing technology available on a global scale, allowing us to empower even more travel distributors with a connected trip experience. Our post-COVID growth has shown that we are offering what customers are expecting, making the whole travel experience seamless and enjoyable. We are confident that we can make a real impact in the industry and we look forward to the journey ahead.”
Grégoire Pasquet
« Beyond the value proposition, we were quickly impressed by the management team, who showed great resilience during the Covid-19 crisis. Thanks to an experienced leadership team and a state-of-the art, innovative technology, Worldia has transformed the custom travel industry and has signed all the major references. We are proud to support the company in this new growth stage, marked by strong international growth. »
Guillaume Dhee & Erwan Bernard - Investisseurs at Crédit Mutuel Innovation
Crédit Mutuel Innovation
Crédit Mutuel Innovation is the venture capital subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Equity (4 billion of capital under management). It invests between €1 and €20 million in innovative companies in the digital, life sciences and deeptech sectors. Crédit Mutuel Innovation enables entrepreneurs to develop their growth potential by connecting them to companies in its ecosystems. Because it takes more than 5 years to create a world leader, Crédit Mutuel Innovation invests its own capital on a long-term basis and builds long-term relationships with the entrepreneurs it supports. For more information : www.creditmutuel-innovation.eu
About Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale
A first-rate French bank and insurance company, with over 77,000 employees, serving over 30 million customers, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale offers a range of services to individual customers, local professionals and companies of all sizes, via 4,500 points of sale. Among the most solid banking groups in Europe, its equity capital amounted to 56.7 billion euros and its CET1 ratio is estimated at 18.2% on 31 December 2022. Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale groups the Crédit Mutuel funds of the following federations : Centre Est Europe (Strasbourg), Sud-Est (Lyon), Île-de-France (Paris), Savoie-Mont Blanc (Annecy), Midi-Atlantique (Toulouse), Loire-Atlantique and Centre Ouest (Nantes), Centre (Orléans), Normandie (Caen), Dauphiné-Vivarais (Valence), Méditerranéen (Marseille), Anjou (Angers), Massif Central (Clermont-Ferrand), Antilles-Guyane (Fort-de-France) and Nord Europe (Lille). Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale also groups the Caisse Fédérale de Crédit Mutuel, the Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) and all its subsidiaries CIC, Euro-Information, Assurances du Crédit Mutuel (ACM), TARGOBANK in Germany, Cofidis, Beobank in Belgium, Banque Européenne du Crédit Mutuel (BECM), Banque de Luxembourg, Banque Transatlantique and Homiris.
More information is available at www.creditmutuelalliancefederale.fr
Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts)
Set up in 2018, Banque des Territoires is one of Caisse des Dépôts' five areas of expertise. It brings together within a single structure all of our in-house expertise for local areas. As a one-stop shop for customers, it provides bespoke solutions in terms of consulting and financing through loans and investment to meet the needs of local authorities, social housing bodies, local public undertakings and the legal professions. It has been set up to serve the interests of all local areas alike, from rural municipalities to large cities, with the ambition of combating social inequality and territorial divisions. Banque des Territoires is also rolled out across Caisse des Dépôts' 16 regional managements and 37 territorial offices so as to resonate more meaningfully with our customers, in their neighborhoods. For more attractive, including, sustainable and connected territories.
“Banque des Territoires is particularly proud to take part in Worldia’s new round of funding. This investment represents a landmark for our strategy to help key travel tech companies grow. Worldia’s technology provides the leading solution for connected trips on the market. Therefore, the touristic assets of our territories become key components being able to increase the attractiveness of all French tourist destinations. This will undoubtedly increase the flow of in-bound tourists for the benefit of our territories. We trust that Worldia’s founders, managers and international teams will be fully committed and dedicated to the success of the venture.”
Antoine Troesch - Investment Director at Banque des Territoires
FrenchFounders
FrenchFounders is the first international business platform dedicated to French leaders and companies, with a worldwide presence. Private club (4000 decision makers), events (400+ per year), company services (200+ companies supported), investment funds (30+ participations), FrenchFounders is the physical and digital connector to help an ecosystem’s development.
“We’re really proud to join the Worldia adventure at this turning point in their internationalization. The project, the execution, as well as the team, have particularly won us over. Looking forward to further contributing to their next big steps.”
Vincent Deruelle - Co-founder & GP LeFonds by FrenchFounders
Red River West
Red River West is a growth stage VC fund that supports the best European Tech companies that have something unique to bring to the US market and transform them into US and Global successes. The fund was started by tech entrepreneurs and investors who all share a track record of building and backing start-ups which became global leaders through EU to US expansion.
“At Red River West, we firmly believe that personalized travel is the future of the industry. As a trailblazer of the connected trip movement, Worldia is poised to unlock a massive opportunity for itself and its partners. Covid greatly accelerated the adoption of their dynamic packaging solution by travel professionals and pure players alike, as evidenced by an impressive 4x growth compared to 2019.”
Antoine Boulin - Founding Partner
CapHorn
CapHorn is a Paris based company specialized in capital risk, who invests in innovative companies evolving in the following sectors : ecological transition, health and digital transition. We support ambitious entrepreneurs and invest in companies with strong growth with operations of 2 to 150 million euros. CapHorn has a portfolio of 65 participations and is part of the group Anaxago.
“Worldia has become a key player in the tourism industry : its solution has already won over the biggest references of the sector and aims towards a quick international development. Worldia’s team is one of the best I’ve had the chance to support: their experience is acute, their company culture unique and their ambition, colossal.”
François Santi - Partner
RAISE Ventures
RAISE Ventures is a Venture Capital organization dedicated to innovative start-ups in France and Europe and which incorporates RAISE Media Investment, a media investment company, and RAISE Seed for Good, a seed and pre-seed fund dedicated to financing and supporting for future European leaders in responsible tech, totalling €175 million in AUM. RAISE Ventures invests between €1 and €7 million and currently has an interest in:
- 22 portfolio companies,
- 7 investment professionals,
- Diversity VC label-certified.
« We are thrilled to announce our reinvestment in Worldia which reflects our strong belief in the company's vision and potential. Since our initial investment, we have been impressed with the company's progress and its ability to execute on its vision, and we are confident in its long-term potential. This reinvestment underlines our commitment to partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs and driving innovation in key sectors. »
Stéphane PESQUÉ - Partner RAISE Ventures
Press contact
- Worldia : Aja Godais, CMO, +33(0)6 60 08 27 74, agodais@worldia.com,
- Crédit Mutuel Innovation : Véronique Richez-Lerouge, +33(0)6 14 63 90 00, v.richezreso-media.com
- FrenchFounders : Marine Gaugain, +33(0)6 34 62 34 87, marine@frenchfounders.com
- Red River West : Olivier Huez, olivier@redriverwest.co