Expedia invests $350m in Indonesia's VC-backed Traveloka

It brings the company's fundraising within the past year to $500 million. This was achieved across two rounds with participation from East Ventures, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and JD.com. Global Founders Capital, a German VC set up by the founders of Rocket Internet, invested in 2013.

"Traveloka is the clear online travel leader in Indonesia, and is expanding aggressively throughout Southeast Asia," Dara Khosrowshahi, president and CEO at Expedia, said in a statement. "Our partnership will benefit from each side's expertise and local knowledge, and accelerate our mutual growth."

The plan is to focus on cooperative hotel-related business expansions globally. Expedia will leverage Traveloka's Southeast Asia experience to strengthen its presence in the region, while Traveloka will benefit from access to a broader set of international accommodation options.

Founded in 2012, Traveloka offers flight and hotel booking services as well as a platform for purchasing tourist activities packages. Although the company is considered the top player in Southeast Asian travel, it postures itself as a  diversified technology provider with competencies in mobility, big data systems, and digital business services.

Investment in Southeast Asian travel is an emerging trend, with competition from international players encouraging creative business modeling among start-ups. Recent activity includes a S$11.5 million ($8.4 million) Series A round for Singapore activities booking company BeMyGuest and a $5.6 million commitment to Indonesian hotel reservations specialist Nida Rooms.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Indonesia
• East Ventures
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• Sequoia Capital
• JD.com
• TMT