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Cyberport-grown Klook takes off to new unicorn status  

Cyberport alumnus Klook has just raised US$200 million in a Series D funding round.   As the most-funded company in the tours and activities sector worldwide, Klook is another Cyberport-grown start-up to reach unicorn status. 

 

Investors in this round include Sequoia China, Matrix Partners, Goldman Sachs, Boyu Capital, TCV, an Asia-based sovereign wealth fund, OurCrowd, and some family office. To date, Klook has raised a total of US$300 million.

 

With the new funding, Klook will gear up for global expansion in the US and Europe including product growth and technology advancement. Its plans encompass the setting up of the US base and adding more US- and Europe-based curated activities and services to the platform to meet the growing demand of Asian travellers for diverse and unique in-destination experiences.  It will also put in place strategies to attract more US and European travellers to Asia.

 

Ethan Lin, CEO and Co-Founder of Klook, said: “This round of funding marks an important milestone for us. The funding and extensive experience from our new investors will let us further solidify our merchant portfolio and provide travellers with even more activities and destinations to explore around the world.”

 

Neil Shen, Founding and Managing Partner of Sequoia China and a member of the Cyberport Advisory Panel, said: “By leveraging their strength in digitally transforming their suppliers of tours and activities and tapping into the new generation of mobile-first travellers, Klook is emerging as the clear leader in the online tours and activities sector. We look forward to seeing Klook help more and more travellers connect to suppliers, and become a key source of inbound demand for Asia and beyond.”

 

Adding this investment round, the cumulative funds raised by Cyberport community has reached over HKD6.9 billion.  Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport, congratulated Klook and its three co-founders on the exceptional achievement: “We are thrilled to witness Klook’s stellar growth in just three years since its admission to Cyberport Incubation Programme in 2015. Their success story is a reminder of the ingenuity of Hong Kong’s digital entrepreneurs and the boundless opportunities that innovation can create. The good news also strengthens our resolve to continuously enhance our start-up ecosystem to springboard more start-ups to success. We look forward to Klook’s success in expanding its global footprint in the years to come.”

 

Founded in 2014, Klook is one of the world’s leading travel activities and services booking platforms. Klook gives travellers a seamless way to discover and book popular attractions, tours, local transportation, best foods and must-eats, and unique experiences around the world on its website and award-winning app ('Best of 2015' & ‘Best of 2017’ by Google Play and Apple App Store). With Klook’s innovative technologies, travelers can book after arriving in their destinations and redeem the services by using QR codes or e-vouchers. Each day, Klook empowers countless travelers to indulge in their wanderlust and spontaneity through over 50,000 offerings in more than 200 destinations.  With a team of over 600 across 16 offices worldwide, Klook's services are available in eight languages and 36 currencies.