Tokyo-based Traveltech Startup Atta To Acquire More Users with US$3m Funding

Atta, an AI-backed traveltech startup based in Tokyo, Japan, seeks to attract more users at home and in Southeast Asia after raising US$3 million in its Series A funding round, according to a company statement.

The funding round was backed by Mitsubishi UFJ Capital VII, Mynavi Corporation, Nagoya TV Ventures, Sansei VI, Sunlight OK Partnership, Suneight-PS1 Investment Partnership, and 31Ventures Global Innovation Fund.

Formerly named WithTravel, Atta is an accommodation metasearch service that recommends hundreds of hotels, apartments, and vacation rentals. It covers hotels and apartments in most holiday destinations under one site.

The company said it uses artificial intelligence and big data to predict future prices of flight tickets and room rates. Its app has a price alert function that notifies users in real-time when room rates and airline ticket prices drop.

“We use big data and AI to analyse the prices of airline tickets to and from 4400 airports and the room rates from more than 2.3 million accommodations around the world and predict the probability that the price will drop in future,” the company said.

The startup, founded by Yoshihisa Haruyama in 2018, launched the Atta app in July 2019.

In a statement, the company said it will use the fresh funding to recruit engineers and increase partnerships in the region. It already has offices in Tokyo and Singapore.

“We have received positive updates from shareholders, and we have continued to upgrade existing services and we will continue to develop new products that will satisfy travelers,” said Atta CEO Yoshihisa Haruyama.

Previously part of FbStart, Facebook’s startup support program, Atta was recently awarded the Mediacorp prize during Slingshot at SFF x Switch 2019.

The company first raised an undisclosed amount of funding in 2018 for its Seed Round. In March 2019, Atta secured ¥200 million (US$1.8 million) from Global Brain Corporation, a Japanese venture capital based in Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, and San Francisco.

“I feel that the travel business can still be transformed with technology, assists travelers to travel smarter and more economically with AI, and have a better experience on the road,” Haruyama added.