German start-up YGO raises €8m to connect travel players

German start-up YGO has closed an €8 million Series A funding round.

The round was led by Ventech, a Franco-European venture capital firm founded in 1998 and specialising in early-stage and Series A tech start-ups, with participation from Sake Bosch, Caesar Capital and several business angels.

YGO positions itself as a neutral AI orchestration layer between travel professionals — agencies, airlines, hotels and tour operators — and the new AI assistants and agents that are reshaping booking behaviour.

The start-up enables clients to expose their inventory in an AI-first environment without rebuilding existing booking systems or ceding their customer relationship to a new intermediary.

Travel distribution has long been dominated by a costly intermediation model, the company says.

OTAs and metasearch have until now taken between 15% and 25% on each transaction.

The rise of AI agents, which can now plan and book an entire trip by dealing directly with providers, could challenge that model.

As a result, suppliers and distributors are looking to regain control of direct sales and the traveller relationship.

YGO aims to address this by equipping travel players to present their offers fluidly and in a personalised way within these new AI agent ecosystems, while retaining control of their distribution channel.

Its technology organises and enriches complex travel data (flights, accommodation and activities) while interfacing directly with the booking systems already in place.

"Online travel booking is undergoing its deepest structural transformation in several decades, but most of the tools in place were not built for it," said Nicolas Barthalon, partner at Ventech.

"YGO’s customers are already taking back control of their customer relationships thanks to AI and are showing very tangible increases in key metrics," he said.

Founded in Berlin by Julian Kögel, Willi Ibbeken and Sebastian Kreutzberger, specialists in AI product design, YGO now also counts Ralf Usbeck, founder of TravelTainment and Peakwork, as a new partner.

Those already working with the company include Condor, the GetAway group and Bentour.

With this funding, YGO plans to ramp up commercialisation, continue developing its platform and expand beyond the German-speaking DACH region, targeting both large enterprises and mid-sized companies.