France: Corporate offsite booking platform Naboo has announced that it has raised €7.5 million in funding to accelerate its expansion in Europe and enhance its tech offering.
The funding round was led by investors such as ISAI, Kima Ventures and Better Angle, as well as existing partners CapHorn and Maif Avenir.
The Paris-based startup plans to use the investment to expand into new European markets this year [including the UK and Belgium] and enhance its tech features, in particular improving its artificial intelligence [AI] capabilities.
Founded in 2022, Naboo is aiming to disrupt the French corporate seminar industry, a market that was valued at €9 billion by Ernst & Young two years ago and is continuing to grow at more than 30 per cent year on year. What Naboo believes differentiates itself from its competitors, though, is its ability to facilitate instant bookings at a transparent price and its all-inclusive offering that enables users to book additional services such as accommodations, workspaces, catering, activities and transportation.
In less than two years, the platform has built a network of 3000 partners and accumulated a collection of more than 500 places, all of which are audited and certified by the company’s team. Naboo works with both French and global firms, including EDF, Google, KPMG, Ikea, Chanel, Airbus, Payfit and BCG.
As more companies adopt remote and hybrid working policies, Naboo is setting out to build a corporate offsite booking platform that simplifies and reduces the time and effort involved in the booking process, and is also personalised and customised to specific teams [rather than catering to entire organisations] by leveraging data and AI.
Maxime Eduardo, co-founder and CEO of Naboo, said: “We’re thrilled about the journey we’ve had since Naboo’s inception: over half of the CAC 40 companies have already turned to us for their seminars.
“What astonishes us the most is how quickly Naboo catches on among its clients once a team books a seminar. What really draws them in is the combination of ultra-customisation and the immediacy of booking, an experience that we alone offer today.
“They’ve never encountered anything like it, turning them into our most vocal advocates. This significant edge is made possible by AI and data, areas where we’ve decided to invest heavily with this funding round,” added Eduardo.
Naboo previously closed a pre-seed funding round of €1.96 million / $2.1 million.
