Airbnb Leads $58M Series C in WeRoad's US Expansion

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-27

WeRoad, the Italian adventure travel company, has closed a $58 million Series C round to fund its first major expansion beyond Europe, bringing its community-driven travel model to the US market. The round was led by Airbnb, with existing investors, including H14 (the Series B lead from 2023), also participating. The round brings the total amount raised by the company to $100 million. Paolo De Nadai, founder of WeRoad, said: "In a world increasingly shaped by AI and social media, genuine human connection is becoming both rarer and more valuable. At WeRoad, we've built our entire product around enabling real-world connections through shared travel experiences. People today are not just looking to visit new places, they're looking to belong." ### The Bigger Picture: 2026 Travel Tech Funding WeRoad's Series C doesn't exist in a vacuum. A 2026 analysis shows several relevant travel, hospitality, and experience-economy funding rounds happening alongside it. In Italy, Smartness raised a $55 million Series B to expand its TravelTech and hotel operational software across Europe, while profitize secured $1.6 million in Seed funding to scale its AI-powered financial planning platform for hospitality. These two same-country announcements are the closest Italian comparators. Elsewhere in Europe: - London-based Vuelo raised $75 million in Seed funding to build an AI-native travel booking, financing, and planning platform - Amsterdam-based Mews closed a $300 million Series D to invest further in AI, automation, payments, and agent-driven workflows for hospitality operations - Germany's happyhotel raised $7.6 million Series A funding to develop AI agents for hotel revenue management - Oslo-based Altek AI secured $500,000 pre-Seed funding to expand autonomous guest communication for hotels across the Nordics and Europe Together, these 2026 comparators account for over $440 million in disclosed funding, indicating sustained investment activity across travel booking, hospitality operations, and technology-enabled real-world experiences. "Expanding into the US is a milestone we've been working towards for years, and having Airbnb alongside us is both a strong validation of what we've built and a powerful signal of the opportunity ahead," adds Paolo.  ### What Makes WeRoad Different Founded in 2017, WeRoad is now reportedly one of the fastest-growing travel operators in Europe. With the strength of its 4,000+ coordinators, WeRoad has facilitated over 300,000 travelers to discover the world in more than 1,000 itineraries. Around 60% of its customers rebook year-on-year, and a third of its bookings come from word of mouth. WeRoad says its main appeal is as a pioneer of the "IRL economy." The company outlines that millennials and Gen Z, its core markets, are hungry for the kind of connections that can only be made offline, and increasingly willing to spend to find them. The IRL economy, which uses tech to facilitate real-world experiences rather than drive long-term online engagement, is above all a response to widespread loneliness. Studies show that young people are among the groups most affected by the loneliness epidemic, and roughly 30% of young adults report feeling lonely every day. ### WeMeet: The Community Engine In 2025, WeRoad expanded its community model beyond travel by launching WeMeet: a platform for local, curated social gatherings. These include day hikes, after-work drinks & dinner, sporting events, and yoga sessions that are open to anyone, not just WeRoad travelers. In 2025 alone, more than 50,000 people across 35 cities attended 2,000 WeMeet events, and the official WeMeet app was downloaded 150,000 times. WeMeet events will be central to WeRoad's US rollout. The company will lead with its digital platform and online marketing capabilities, using targeted campaigns and strategic partnerships to identify and build its strongest markets. From there, WeRoad will deploy the full community playbook it has refined across Europe and build a homegrown network of American coordinators, establishing a local presence that feels authentic.