KAYAK.COM SECURES $7 MILLION IN SERIES B FINANCING
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Sequoia Capital joins Existing Investors General Catalyst Partners and America Online
Total Funding Increases to $15.5 Million
NORWALK, CT – December 21, 2004 – Kayak.com, a website that helps consumers get comprehensive and objective travel information, today announced the completion of a $7 million Series B financing round led by Sequoia Capital, a California-based venture capital firm. Kayak.com is only the third East Coast company Sequoia Capital has funded in the last two years.
The company has now raised a total of $15.5 million to create the next generation of online travel. The additional funding will be used to further product development and expand marketing.
Kayak.com was founded by the creators of Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity in January 2004
to satisfy the demand of internet users for a clear, objective and comprehensive source of online travel information. Web-based services are the foundation of the $55 billion spent on online travel in the U.S today. Yet online travel consumers exhibit limited loyalty, using an average of 2.5 sites and offline agents in their research . Kayak.com addresses consumer frustration by providing comprehensive rates and relevant objective information as well as giving users choice of where to book.
“Beyond the fact that the company has five letters in its name (like Cisco, Apple, Atari and Yahoo!), we chose to invest in Kayak.com because of its founders’ deep and genuine desire to provide a better, fairer and impartial travel service for the growing community of internet users,” said Michael Moritz, a Partner with Sequoia Capital.
“We are delighted to welcome Sequoia Capital as an investor in Kayak.com,” said Steve Hafner, Kayak.com CEO and co-founder. “This financing is a strong validation of our vision, business direction, and management team. Kayak.com now has a far greater financial foundation from which to grow.”
About Sequoia Capital:
Founded in 1972 Sequoia Capital is one of the leading venture capital firms. In the last three decades Sequoia has funded hundreds of companies, including: Apple, 3COM, Cisco, LSI Logic, Yahoo!, Google and Flextronics. Sequoia Capital targets its investments in early stage companies in the areas of Components, Systems, Software and Services. Sequoia Capital is based in Menlo Park, California.
About General Catalyst Partners
General Catalyst Partners is a private equity firm that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs and technical founders who are building the software solution and technology platform companies that will lead innovation and transform industries. Founded in 2000, General Catalyst Partners is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit: generalcatalyst.com.
About Kayak.com
Created by the co-founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, Kayak.com helps consumers get comprehensive and objective travel information in their trip planning. Kayak.com is not an online travel agency, but instead searches over 60 other online travel sites, providing prices and itineraries for more than 550 airlines and 85,000 hotels. Kayak.com displays more choice of available itinerary/price combinations than any other online travel agency and is the only travel search engine with MultiBook™, a breakthrough technology that lets the consumer choose where to purchase the preferred itinerary. Kayak.com is also the first online travel tool to offer consumers the ability to access user-created reviews and ratings as well as other relevant travel information. For additional background, please visit kayak.com. |
