Travel search site Skyscanner raises $192M for global expansion

Skyscanner, which provides a global travel search engine, announced Tuesday that it has raised $192 million from five investment partners.

Skyscanner, which was founded in 2003 and bases its Americas headquarters in Miami, said its new funding will be used to accelerate its rapid growth worldwide in the $500 billion online travel market. New backers Artemis, Baillie Gifford, Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Vitruvian Partners now join SEP and Sequoia as the company’s investment partners. Yahoo! JAPAN, already a venture partner in Skyscanner Japan, also joined the Skyscanner financing round.

In a statement, the Edinburgh, Scotland-based company said its latest round is made up of primary and secondary proceeds and each new investor will acquire an undisclosed stake in Skyscanner. The Edinburgh-based company did not disclose its valuation, but the Financial Times reported that it is now worth $1.6 billion.

Skyscanner.com, which provides free searches of flights, hotels and car hire around the world, is now used by 50 million people every month and is available in 30 languages. Skyscanner’s free mobile apps have been downloaded over 40 million times, the company said.

The privately-owned company, headed by CEO Gareth Williams, employs more than 700 employees, which has more than doubled in the past two years, and has 10 global offices, including its Miami office that opened in 2013 and employs 20 people, a spokesman said.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Travel search site Skyscanner raises $192M for global expansion."