YGO, a Berlin company that builds AI software for the travel industry, has raised €8m (about $9.0m) in a Series A round. The round was announced on 21 October 2026.
Ventech led the round. Sake Bosch, Caesar Capital and a group of business angels also took part, according to a statement published by Ventech. Tech.eu also reported the round.
The company did not disclose a valuation or say how much it has raised in total.
“Travel is one of the last major industries still built on infrastructure that was never designed for an AI-first world.”Julian Kögel, Co-Founder and CEO, YGO
What YGO does
YGO sells a software layer that sits between travel companies, their existing booking systems and AI assistants. It takes hotel and product data that is often scattered across many systems, organises and enriches it so that AI models can understand what a company sells, and then uses it for semantic search, personalised recommendations, automated customer service and booking across flights, accommodation and activities.
The software plugs into older systems, so customers do not have to rebuild their technology, and it works both on a company's own channels and through outside AI agents. Its website currently highlights hotel data products, including content enrichment, a tool that answers guest questions from verified data and distribution to AI assistants.
Tech.eu noted that online travel agencies and metasearch sites usually keep 15% to 25% of each booking. YGO presents its software as a neutral layer that lets suppliers sell directly and keep more of that margin.
The company was founded by Julian Kögel, its chief executive, with Willi Ibbeken and Sebastian Kreutzberger. Ralf Usbeck, who founded the travel technology companies TravelTainment and Peakwork, has joined the team. The founding year was not given.
Customers and results
Customers named by the company include Condor, Bentour and GetAway Group. According to the company, one airline customer cut manual operations by 90% and raised conversion by 20%, while another increased its average order value 2.4-fold without hiring more staff.
Ventech's statement said YGO's annual recurring revenue reached seven figures within six months and that the company has processed more than €15m (about $16.8m) in bookings to date. Tech.eu did not report those two figures.
Kögel said travel is one of the last large industries still running on infrastructure that was not built for AI. Nicolas Barthalon, a partner at Ventech, said online travel booking is going through its largest structural change in decades.
What the money is for
YGO said it will use the money to grow its sales and go-to-market teams, build out its platform and the orchestration layer that coordinates its AI, and turn its existing pipeline into signed customers.
It also plans to expand beyond the DACH region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, targeting both large enterprises and mid-sized travel companies. The company has not disclosed its headcount.
The funding so far
The company appeared in earlier coverage under the name YGO Trips. Its online newsroom links to an August 2024 EU-Startups article headlined as YGO Trips raising €2.5m (about $2.8m), and to 2024 trade-press reports in fvw that founders of HomeToGo and Flixbus had invested.
Neither Ventech's statement nor Tech.eu gave details of that earlier funding, and the lead investor of the 2024 round could not be confirmed from the sources used for this article.
Company website: ygo.ai