Expedia Group acquires Layla to accelerate AI trip planning

Start-up's original goal was to 'fix discovery and planning'

Layla, the AI-native trip planning and booking platform that helps travellers move from inspiration to itinerary across flights, accommodation, activities, dining and transport, is now part of Expedia Group. 

The move aligns with the company’s ambition to offer end-to-end journeys. Founded back in 2023 in Berlin by Saad Saeed and Sardar Bali, to "fix discovery and inspiration". 

It managed to raise £3 million quickly and then went onto raise a further two, to build a conversational experience that assembles personalised itineraries.

Expedia Group plans to combine Layla’s personalisation and planning capabilities with its own strengths: global supply, first-party traveller insights, marketplace scale and booking technology. The integration is intended to smooth the path from discovery to transaction and onward support. 

“Layla has built an exceptional AI-powered travel planning experience that aligns perfectly with our vision for the future of travel,” said Shilpa Ranganathan, chief product officer at Expedia Group. 

“We know that our travellers desire personalised and complete experiences, and AI is making that possible in entirely new ways. 

"By combining Layla's innovation with Expedia Group's trusted marketplace, world-class supply, and technology platform, we can accelerate our ability to deliver the next generation of travel planning and booking.”

“When Sardar Bali and I founded Layla in 2023, our goal was to make travel planning as easy as having a conversation,” said Saad Saeed, Layla co-founder and chief executive. 

“I’m incredibly grateful to our amazing team, who have worked tirelessly to bring us to this point. Joining Expedia Group gives us the scale, supply, and resources to bring that vision to millions more travelers around the world. Together, we have an incredible opportunity to redefine how people discover, plan, and book travel.” 

The acquisition can be seen as a consumer-facing extension of Expedia Group’s recent push to knit inspiration, planning and booking more tightly together across its ecosystem, following the launch of an AI toolkit for professionals.