Planned secures $35M in funding, Hopper CEO joins board of directors

Canadian purchasing and booking platform Planned announced Thursday it has raised $35 million in Series B funding. Drive Capital led the round, with participation from Outsiders Fund and two other undisclosed companies.

This round brings Planned’s total funding since it first launched in 2017 to $65 million. Planned told Skift Meetings that the company has “millions of dollars” in annual recurring revenue and expects to be profitable by 2025.

“Since our Series A round, we have made significant progress, growing revenue 30x and earning the trust of major customers such as PwC, Block and AWS,” said Planned CEO Marc Bonin.

The company said it will use the funds to expand its artificial intelligence products, continue its global expansion and expand travel booking capabilities.

Planned also announced that Hopper CEO and co-founder Frederic Lalonde will join its board of directors. “Planned’s innovative approach makes it stand out in an industry that is almost old-school,” Lalonde said.

planning platform planning

The Planned platform provides travel, venue and supplier procurement services and manages payment structures that comply with corporate spend policies.

The platform has chosen not to offer an AI-driven chatbot interface, instead embedding AI into a variety of features. A growing number of AI capabilities include:

• Filter suitable venues based on event profile
• Compare event venues based on past event data
• Pre-populate request for proposal
• Provide an estimate

“Our vision is that by combining human service with artificial intelligence, we can challenge the status quo of traditional travel and procurement agencies (TMC) and provide customers with faster and more personalized services. We believe that the future of TMC must be driven by technology and raising funds will allow us to accelerate development.

related