Withlocals is a technology company.
Withlocals has raised $13.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Withlocals has raised $13.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Withlocals has raised $13.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Withlocals's investors include INKEF Capital.
Withlocals is a portfolio company building a global online marketplace that connects travelers with local hosts for private, fully customizable tours and experiences, emphasizing "mass personalization" over mass tourism.[1][2][6] It serves adventure-seeking travelers—primarily millennials—who want authentic, off-the-beaten-path cultural immersions like food tours and hidden gem explorations, solving the problem of generic group tours by offering 100% private, tailored activities led by vetted locals in over 300 destinations.[2][3][5][6] The platform supports sustainable tourism as a B Corp-certified company, with hosts earning directly to benefit their communities, and has shown strong growth: from 24 cities in 2017 to 65 in recent years, then 5x scaling to 300+ markets using generative AI, backed by €11.5M+ in funding and $21.2M revenue.[1][2][5]
Founded in 2013 by Dutch brothers Marijn and Willem Maas in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Withlocals emerged from the sharing economy trend, initially targeting home-cooked dinners in seven Southeast Asian countries with support from accelerator Greenhouse Group, $500K seed from Digital Equity, and an EU Horizon 2020 grant.[1] The idea pivoted to personalized tours after early traction, raising €3.5M Series A in 2017 (led by INKEF Capital) with 1,200 tours across 24 cities and 900 hosts, then €8M Series B in 2019 (with Keen Venture Partners) to expand to 30+ cities and enhance software for non-English languages.[1][3] Key pivots included a data-driven approach impressing investors and COVID-era virtual experiences; by mid-2019, it had 50+ employees, later growing to 84.[1][2]
Withlocals rides the experiential travel wave amid sharing economy and authenticity trends, countering overtourism with personalized, sustainable alternatives in a market shifting from mass packages to "experiences over things."[1][6] Timing aligns with post-COVID demand for meaningful, local connections—e.g., virtual tours during restrictions—and AI acceleration for hyper-scaling markets without proportional host growth.[2][5] Favorable forces include millennial travel spend on culture/food, fintech for global payments, and EU grants for innovation; it influences the ecosystem by pioneering "mass personalization" in tours&activities, inspiring data/AI adoption and B Corp models in hospitality tech.[1][3][4]
Withlocals is poised to dominate personalized travel by leveraging AI for 300+ markets, enhancing multilingual apps, and expanding fintech integrations like Stripe for remote payouts.[4][5] Trends like sustainable tourism, Gen Z/millennial experience investing, and AI-driven personalization will fuel growth, potentially doubling hosts/cities amid rebounding global travel. Its influence may evolve from niche disruptor to ecosystem leader, empowering locals economically while redefining tourism—bringing "magic and wonder" to mass markets as mass tourism fades.[2][6]
Withlocals has raised $13.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $9.0M Series B in March 2019.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2019 | $9.0M Series B | INKEF Capital | |
| Oct 1, 2017 | $4.0M Series A | INKEF Capital |