Alibaba, Line invest Taiwan's KKday
Alibaba Group and Line Corporation have led an extended Series B round of undisclosed size for KKday, a Taiwan-based travel services company backed by a number of venture capital firms.
The internet giants invested via their VC programs Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund and Line Ventures. Existing backers CDIB Capital and Monk’s Hill Ventures also participated. It extends a $10.5 million Series B investment received in February from Japanese travel company HIS and MindWorks Ventures.
KKday says its partnerships with Alibaba, Line and HIS are part of a plan to leverage corporate resources to offer more in-depth and seamless travel services. Its first strategic cooperation will be rolled out this month as part of Line’s launch of a mobile service called Line Travel. The new app will allow users to book flights, hotels, tours, and activities, as well as plan and share their itineraries with friends.
"Asia's travel experience booking market has had explosive growth due to the changing of consumer behavior," Masato Endo, an investment director at Line Ventures, said in a statement. “Through KKday's relentless passion to create the most satisfying customer experiences, we are positive that KKday has the potential to become Asia's number one tours and activities booking platform."
Launched in 2015, KKday operates an online platform that specializes in local in-destination tours and curated activities. The multilingual service currently hosts more than 20,000 experiences in more than 80 countries and 500 cities. Earlier this year, the company launched a Chinese service in cooperation with Alibaba’s Fliggy travel platform, formerly known as Alitrip and Taobao Travel.
Other investors in the company include AppWorks Ventures, Substance Capital, and Cathay Venture, a division of Taiwan's Cathay Financial. All three participated in a $7 million Series A round in 2016 alongside MindWorks and Monk’s Hill, which followed closely on a $4.5 million investment from AppWorks.
KKday’s main competitor is Hong Kong’s Klook, which closed a $200 million Series D round earlier this year. Klook has 16 offices across Asia and is planning expansions into the US and Europe. It claims its platform offers more than 50,000 activities and services across about 200 destinations.
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