Techstars-Backed Startup Eddy Travels Launches AI Travel Assistant with Voice Understanding

Toronto, Canada, May 24, 2019 --(PR.com)-- Eddy Travels, a travel tech startup based in Toronto, today announced the launch of an AI-powered personal travel assistant. Designed to simplify the trip planning experience, the digital assistant provides personalized suggestions for the best flights, hotels, car rentals, and other services. It targets millennial travelers in Canada and the US and is available on popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Viber, and Line. The team behind Eddy Travels built a cutting-edge natural language processing system and integrated offers from such leading travel companies as Skyscanner.

Originally from Lithuania, the Eddy Travels team opened a company in Canada and set up headquarters in Toronto to continue their expansion in North America. The Techstars Toronto startup accelerator in partnership with Real Ventures has invested in Eddy Travels along with international angel investors.

Trip planning for Millennials
Eddy Travels was created to tackle the biggest pain points associated with planning a trip. Instead of having to go through dozens of different websites, people can get personalized travel recommendations by messaging the digital assistant right on their favorite chat apps. For flights, hotels, and car rentals Eddy Travels partnered with Skyscanner, one of the best travel metasearch engines in the world. Other partners include SafetyWing, Vertoe, Sherpa, Sitata, and G Adventures that offer a variety of services such as travel medical insurance, daily luggage storage, visa information, tour packages, and more.

Why Canada
Although the founders are from Lithuania, they decided to open a company in Canada and move their operations to Toronto. Among the many reasons for relocating, they highlighted the booming startup ecosystem, access to thousands of AI professionals, and the size of the North American travel market. Being accepted into the startup accelerator and receiving an investment from Techstars Toronto also contributed to the decision.

Speaking of Eddy Travels, Sunil Sharma, Managing Director of Techstars Toronto, said, "We decided to invest in Eddy Travels because of the great team and timing to the market. The travel industry is ripe for disruption by AI assistants and voice computing. 2018 was a record year in fundraising for travel startups both globally and in Canada, with major rounds raised by Hopper, SnapTravel, Ada Support, and other Canadian travel tech companies. Eddy Travels is a great fit for the Techstars Toronto program and we are happy that the founders are applying for the Canada Startup Visa program."