ETW Staff – Mumbai
Skyscanner, a fast growing international travel search company, has announced its partnership with Sequoia Capital. Michael Moritz, chairman of Sequoia Capital, will represent the company on Skyscanner’s board of directors. Scottish Equity Partners will remain Skyscanner’s largest investor followed by Sequoia Capital who will be the second investor. Sequoia Capital’s secondary investment values Skyscanner at US$ 800 million.
Speaking on this partnership, Gareth Williams, CEO of Skyscanner said, “Sequoia Capital’s investment in Skyscanner brings to us a depth of experience drawn from a pantheon of technological brands. We want to provide comprehensive and inspiring answers to travellers worldwide for all aspects of their trips. We intend to offer our users more of the technology and functionality they are already familiar with.” Adding to this, Moritz said, “A lot remains to be done to make mobile and online travel easier for consumers from Accra to Zagreb and Skyscanner is paving these paths. Our job is to help take its current success a step further.”
Skyscanner recently opened a new office in Miami to build its business in the US, Canadian and Latin American markets. Skyscanner has also acquired Fogg, a Barcelona-based company that makes internet hotel search simpler and faster, to expand its travel offering into other important areas of its users’ travel plans. Skyscanner’s comprehensive, proprietary flight search product has been successful and it has launched a proprietary car rental engine built from the ground-up.
