Seoul-headquartered online travel platform MyRealTrip has reportedly raised $56.7 million in a Series F equity round, while PropertyGuru co-founder Steve Melhuish has stepped down from its board of directors.
BlueRun Ventures Korea, IMM Investment lead MyRealTrip’s round
Seoul-headquartered online travel platform MyRealTrip has reportedly raised $56.7 million in a Series F equity round. According to a report by TechCrunch, the round was co-led by returning investors BlueRun Ventures Korea and IMM Investment, while Altos Ventures, Partech Partners, Smilegate, and SV Investment also reupped.
The new investors who participated are Paris-based Korelya Capital and the US’ Vanderbilt University’s endowment fund.
The latest round reportedly brings total funds raised by MyRealTrip, founded in 2012, to approximately $113 million (150 billion won) in equity and $39 million in debt.
“The travel industry was fragmented 12 years ago in South Korea, and there was no platform that provided travel information,” Donggun Lee, CEO of MyRealTrip, was quoted as saying.
The company, which has some 300 employees, is targeting to become a super app for the travel industry, offering multiple travel services including flights, accommodation, and transportation.
Melhuish seeks to focus on climate-related assignments
Property Guru co-founder Steve Melhuish, who also served as the company’s first CEO from 2007 until 2016, has resigned from his position on the board of directors of the company.
“New year and renewed (climate) focus. The PropertyGuru Group director role is my only non-climate related commitment, so resigning from the board after 16+ years was a big (but right) decision,” said Melhuish in a LinkedIn post.
Melhuish is part of the founding teams of several ongoing climate-related enterprises, including impact investment firm Climate Rise — founded in 2019 — and climate tech venture builder Wavemaker Impact, which was founded in 2021.
Singapore-based PropertyGuru made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 via a SPAC arrangement with Bridgetown 2. The real estate technology company turned around a string of four consecutive quarters of losses, achieving a net income of $233,000 in Q3 2023.