Kirkland, Wash.-based travel tech company Steller raised $5 million to launch a new planning feature in its app called “Trips” that combines human experiences with artificial intelligence to help travelers plot their next adventure.
Founded in 2014 as Expedition Travel Advisor Inc., the company bought the Steller platform from former Microsoft VP Richard McAniff in 2018. Ten years ago, Steller’s story-building app for image and video creators was a GeekWire “App of the Week.”
Steller, which has raised $42 million to date, is now used by travelers and influencers who grew up with social media. The new Trips feature plays off the appeal of short-form video content, which Steller says can impact travel decisions — noting that 75% of travelers rely on social media videos for destination inspiration.
Steller combines that content in Trips with destination details, curated trips from experts, interactive maps, an AI-enhanced trip planner, and booking functionality.
“The travel industry is long and big on business but pretty short on true innovation,” said Steller CEO Pete Bryant, a longtime investor and entrepreneur with roots in Seattle. “And when you think about new tools in the marketplace and so forth, we’ve taken that human element and harnessed it as our core.”
Steller’s lead backer is Seattle-area investment firm Pioneer Venture Partners, where Bryant has been a managing partner for more than 26 years.
Steller uses AI to fill in what Bryant calls “data gaps.” Human travel experts may recommend a place to surf in Costa Rica or a pizza joint in New York City. But machine-augmented content adds additional choices on where to stay, what to see, what to eat, where to shop and more.
AI also helps Steller learn over time what types of content to surface for users based on what they interact with or share themselves. An entire trip can be planned, booked and then recapped on the Steller platform — no need to jump out of the app to other sites.
“Everything that you’re looking at and experiencing from travelers all over the world can be acted on and be used for your purposes of planning a trip,” Bryant said.
Steller partners with online travel agents such as Viator and Trivago, and the company generates revenue in a number of ways, including by partnering with tourism boards around the world to showcase various destinations and run campaigns for them.
There are a flurry of travel-planning startups that compete with Steller, including social-focused platforms such as Vancouver, B.C.-based Pilot. And larger travel companies, including Seattle-based Expedia Group, are testing different ways to use AI for building itineraries.
Steller’s new funding is part of a $22 million Series B round. Some of that cash was used to acquire Travel Mindset, an influencer marketing agency, in March.
The company has 30 full-time employees.
