Peek Raises $23M, Inks A Deal With Google

Peek, the startup that wants to overhaul the travel activities industry with technology, has raised $23 million in venture funding and unveiled a partnership with Google.

According to a report, citing an interview with Ruzwana Bashir, the chief executive and co-founder of the company, Peek raised $10 million two years ago. The latest round of fundraising was led by Cathay Innovation and included existing backers such as ex-Yelp COO Geoff Donaker, Kayak Founder Paul English, I2BF and Manta Ray. Peek has plenty of well-known angel backers, including Founder of Trulia and NFX Pete Flint, former Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

To date, the company has raised $40 million, the report noted. Since launching, the company says it has offered 10,000 experiences in the U.S., Mexico, Paris and London, and has 500,000 reviews and ratings. According to the report, Peek says every review is verified because users can only leave reviews after they have booked, paid and completed the activity. What’s more, the CEO said the company’s software handles hundreds of millions of dollars in booking volume. The executive declined to provide financial details, such as revenue and whether or not it has a profit of loss.

Bashir did say the company is seeking growth currently, and noted that some of the proceeds of the fundraising will go so that Peek can reach more businesses.

In addition to announcing the fundraising round, Peek said it had inked a partnership with Google in which its inventory of trips will be added to Google Search, Google Maps and Google Trips. The aim is to boost visibility for the company and increase bookings. It adds to an existing partnership Peek has with other platforms including Yelp, noted the report. Bashir said the market for global activities is worth $150 billion, with the U.S. having the most opportunity to make money.

“It hasn’t gone through the analog-to-digital transition like other industries,” she said in the report. “So we’re building the infrastructure and software that emerged in other industries ten years ago. When you look at businesses in the U.S., over 70 percent don’t have  real-time online booking, you still have to call the business or email them.”

Peek has software for booking travel that lets travel companies support booking on their own websites and lets them run their business on mobile devices. The report noted that is becoming important for businesses that operate outdoors, which is common with travel activities.