View this email in your browser | Subscribe to our newsletter

Hi there,

In our previous newsletter edition, I asked you to bookmark the 28th of January for a major new research release.

And then, nothing... No email from us last week.

We truly apologize. We got slightly distracted by the Clubhouse hype that reached Germany's tech scene in mid-January.

According to AppAnnie, we were not the only ones getting caught up in the frenzy.

Download figures for the Clubhouse app in Germany skyrocketed from a few hundred downloads per day in the first half of January to more than 20,000 a day in the second half.

But, we're now back to business.

And with a one-week delay, our latest research report is now ready for download!

Close to 50 pages full of data charts. All about air taxis.

The most exciting part: the report contains the first-ever publicly available patent analysis in the air taxi sector. My teammate Kolin used this patent view to benchmark the most promising air taxi providers based on their technology strength and relevance.

It's nothing you'll find anywhere else.

Except in the business magazine Handelsblatt (in German only) which covered our report findings in an exclusive story.

Enjoy.

Lennart Dobravsky
Director Research & Intelligence, Lufthansa Innovation Hub

Research

New report: The state of air taxis

Air taxis that can take off and land like helicopters while flying like airplanes could finally realize our vision of the future full of flying cars.

Over 150 startups, as well as a growing number of corporations around the globe, are working eagerly on innovative solutions to make eVTOL vehicles—or air taxis— become a reality.

In order to shed light on the accelerating innovation dynamics in the air taxi market landscape, this free report rigorously analyzes the eVTOL landscape from various data-driven angles.

Download Report

Startups

Business travel is not dead

Corporate travel has been hit extremely hard by the pandemic.

Many experts predict that business travel will not return to pre-Covid levels any time soon (if at all) as distributed work and corporate travel appear more and more mutually exclusive, the longer this pandemic goes on.

However, the recent mega funding into business travel management company TripActions proves that there is a future and need for smart, technology-driven travel companies – an important signal to travel sector startups everywhere.

Interesting side note, the mega funding also pushed TripActions up the unicorn leaderboard.

For a complete list of all unicorns in our sector, just click below.

Press Picks

Our recommended must reads

MICROMOBILITY 3.0 – Lime is extending its micromobility mix with electric mopeds. This will be the third mode of transport the company is offering through its platform besides scooters and bikes. The moped addition signals Lime's recovery from the COVID-19 slump that had forced rounds of lay-offs.
Read more on Techcrunch

VR TRAVEL – KLM is using a 3D VR platform to recreate a virtual office workspace for its employees. While currently only used for internal meetings, the Dutch carrier plans to use this service to develop virtual travel experiences and capture new customer pools.
Read more by Forbes

SPACE TOURISM – Ever wondered how much a private trip to the International Space Station might cost? Axiom Space, which is sending 3 “tourists” to space next year, is charging $55M per person. But space tourism might be closer in the future than we think, according to NASA and SpaceX.
Watch more by The Verge

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE – TripAdvisor reveals in a new report 5 trends that will shape consumers’ 2021 travel plans. Among others, the report cites growth in international hotel searches for as early as May and discusses the role of vaccinations in restoring consumer confidence.
Read more by TripAdvisor

MAPIFY UNDER DEVELOPMENT – We once proclaimed Mapify to be the travel app that could take on Instagram. Unfortunately, its founders announced this week the travel inspiration startup will pause its current operations while looking for "larger partners" to refine its way forward.
Read more by Business Insider (in German only)

EVTOL AIRPORT – A first urban air taxi and drone airport is set to open in Coventry, UK this November. The hydrogen-powered hub will work as a proof of concept for EVTOL urban infrastructure. The airport can be moved where necessary and could serve as an infrastructure basis needed to kick-off urban air mobility.
Read more by Science Focus

Deal Tracker

Most recent Venture Capital deals

= Exit Alert (startup listed at the stock exchange or got acquired)

= Unicorn Alert (post-deal company valuation at >$1B)

Rivian – the US-based autonomous electric vehicles manufacturer raised $2.65B from Amazon, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research, and further investors.

Cruise – the US-based manufacturer of advanced self-driving autonomous vehicles raised $2B from Honda Motor Company, Microsoft, and General Motors.

Didi Chuxing – the Chinese ride-hailing unicorn raised $300M for its autonomous driving unit from IDG Capital, CPE, and further investors.

TripActions – the US-based corporate travel management platform raised $280M from Addition, Andreessen Horowitz, and further investors.

Klook – the Hong Kong-based tours and activities booking platform raised $200M from Aspex Management, Sequoia Capital China, and further investors.

Uisee – the Chinese autonomous driving developer raised $150M from Guokai Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund.

Volta – the US-based ad-supported EV charging network developer raised $125M from Energize Ventures.

Gett – the UK-based SAAS solution to organized mobility providers raised $115M from Pelham Capital Management.

WeRide – the Chinese fully autonomous vehicles developer raised $110M from China Media Capital, Guangdong Hengjian Investment, Kinzon Capital, and further investors.

Uplift – the US-based buy-now-pay-later-for-travel startup raised $68M from Atalaya Capital Management.

VuLog – the French mobile car-sharing platform raised $31.64M from European Investment Bank, Frog Capital, and further investors.

Dingdandao – the Chinese PMS for vacation rentals raised $10.8M from Anyi Shengyin, Youzan, and further investors.

SafetyWing – the US-based travel insurance provider for digital nomads raised $8M from byFounders, Creandum, and Rocketship.

Chalo – the Indian live bus tracker raised $7M from Tarun Sawhney, The Raine Group, and further investors.

Meep – the Madrid-based MaaS transport startup raised $4.85M from Liil Ventures.

Pana – the US-based business travel platform raised $3.6M from RTP Ventures and further investors.

Zeus – the Irish three-wheeler e-scooter company raised $2.43M from former Europcar Ireland chief executive Colm Menton.

Cocoonr – the French property management system developer raised $1.21M from George Sampeur of the B&B Hotel group, Gwenne G, and further investors.

SalesTrip – the London-based expense and travel management software raised $1.4M from Floreat Group.

NexTravel – the US-based enterprise travel booking platform raised an undisclosed amount from TravelPerk.