Taiwan travel platform KKday raises $20 million | Taiwan News
Taipei-based travel company KKday announced that it has raised US$20 million (NT$598.5 million) in Series C+ financing led by TGVest capital, focusing on investing in Taiwan and Japan and connecting the two markets.
This represents a total of $95 million in Series C funding raised. KKday will use the new funds to continue expanding in global markets and help digitally transform the travel industry through its SaaS booking product, Rezio.
KKday said it aims to open more than 300 positions, including software engineering, marketing, business development, operations and global marketing strategy. KKday added that it expects to have more than 1,000 employees by 2023.
KKday has been promoting Rezio in Asian markets since March 2020. Rezio is a SaaS solution for merchants to manage reservations and inventory.
In June 2021, it won customers from South Korea, as well as several famous tourist attractions in Japan. Currently, over 1,600 travelers use Rezio and it has served over 2.7 million travelers.
KKday is also actively cooperating with other tour companies. At the end of 2021, invest in FunNow, a last-minute booking platform, and acquire Activity Japan, a Japanese travel booking system.
“KKday tries to cooperate with travel friends to provide customers with innovative services,” said Chen Mingming, CEO and founder of KKday.
Over the past two and a half years, the coronavirus has disrupted the world economy and hit the travel industry hard. Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, KKday overcame it with agile and innovative strategies.
Chen, who led two IPOs before founding KKday, said a key tenet of his is to always prepare for the worst. By always preparing for the worst, KKday has been disciplined in managing its cash flow and balance sheet.
The key principle is not to sink short-term assets into long-term investments, optimizing cash flow flexibility in return. This played a major role in offsetting the initial shock of the outbreak, allowing KKday to protect its brand and refund customers in full despite a significant drop in revenue.
KKday founder and CEO Chen Mingming (right).