AI in Travel
Now, Netherlands Based GeniusTravel Raises Two Million Euro To Launch AI-Powered Travel Packages App, Ushering In A New Era For Travel Planning: What You Need To Know
Monday, July 7, 2025
GeniusTravel, one of the Amstelveen-headquartered TravelTech start-ups, has raised €2 million in funding in order to launch its app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in efforts to revolutionize the process of booking journeys. It will serve consumers by assisting in the discovery and booking of full trips, consisting of flight and stay, through harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
The funding round, which saw investments from anonymous backers, will enable GeniusTravel to launch the app in the Netherlands this year, with plans to expand into other European markets soon after. The app aims to provide budget-conscious travelers with an easy-to-use platform to curate personalized travel packages, simplifying the process of comparing prices, destinations, and options across multiple platforms.
AI-Powered Travel Booking: The Future of Budget-Friendly Travel
GeniusTravel’s approach combines the convenience of AI technology with the expertise of traditional tour operators. According to one investor, generative AI has proven its value in simplifying complex tasks, and now, the travel industry can benefit from this technology to offer better and faster services to consumers. “Most people book holidays online, but many still seek guidance from tour operators. Genius brings the best of both worlds together through smart technology,” the investor said.
The app’s functionality allows users to create tailored travel packages based on their preferences and budget. One of the standout features of the GeniusTravel app is its AI-powered chatbot. By simply starting a conversation with the AI travel agent, users can outline their travel wishes, and the app will generate a selection of personalized travel options that meet their criteria.
A One-Stop Solution for Travel Planning
Founder Gennie Freen, who was inspired by his frustration with comparing multiple travel platforms, set out to build a one-stop solution for affordable travel. After over three years of development and extensive beta testing, GeniusTravel is now ready to meet the needs of modern travelers looking for simplicity and value.
The app is designed to be user-friendly and accessible to everyone. For travelers who prefer a hassle-free experience, GeniusTravel’s AI system automatically curates a variety of packages tailored to their needs. The app offers a range of deals, from last-minute weekend getaways to affordable trips under €120 per person. For users who prefer more control, the app provides the ability to search manually using various filters, such as budget, destination, and travel dates.
Partnership with Expedia: Accessing the Best Deals
In a strategic partnership with global travel giant Expedia, GeniusTravel combines a large database of travel options to provide its users with the best deals. The app uses Expedia’s platform to mix and match flights and accommodations, ensuring a “best-price guarantee” for customers. This collaboration enhances the app’s ability to offer competitive pricing and diverse options that cater to different travel preferences.
GeniusTravel also plans to add additional filters to the app in the near future, including options to search by accommodation facilities and amenities, further expanding its customization features. The app is designed to be a comprehensive solution for travelers looking for the most affordable and efficient ways to plan and book their trips.
The Road Ahead for GeniusTravel
The successful completion of the €2 million funding round represents a significant milestone for GeniusTravel as it prepares for its official launch. The app is already available for download for free on both iOS and Android platforms through the App Store and Play Store, respectively. With a growing user base and strong demand for more streamlined travel booking solutions, GeniusTravel is well-positioned to disrupt the travel industry.
As the app expands its reach beyond the Netherlands into other European markets, the founders of GeniusTravel are optimistic that their AI-powered platform will become a go-to solution for travelers seeking budget-friendly, easy-to-book vacation packages. With its unique blend of technology and affordability, GeniusTravel is poised to redefine the travel booking experience for consumers across Europe.
Conclusion: A New Era in Travel Booking
GeniusTravel’s €2 million investment plays a crucial role in reconfiguring the manner in which consumers plan and book holidays. Through the combination of holiday booking and the force of AI, the app provides consumers with a hassle-free encounter which matches individual preferences with the best deals available in stock. Through its future entry into the Dutch market and expansion into further European territories, GeniusTravel will offer consumers a convenient and simplified means of enjoying cheaper bundles and experiences when they travel.
With the face of traveling continuously changing, AI-powered platforms like GeniusTravel are spearheading the way into future booking procedures and making it all more streamlined, quick, and affordable for consumers.
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AI in Travel
OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Agent Combining Deep Research and Operator
OpenAI has launched the ChatGPT agent, a new feature that allows ChatGPT to act independently using its own virtual computer. The agent can navigate websites, run code, analyse data, and complete tasks such as planning meetings, building slideshows, and updating spreadsheets.
The feature is now rolling out to Pro, Plus, and Team users, with access for Enterprise and Education users expected in the coming weeks.
The agent integrates previously separate features like Operator and Deep Research, combining their capabilities into a single system. Operator allowed web interaction through clicks and inputs, while deep research focused on synthesis and summarisation.
The new system allows fluid transition between reasoning and action in a single conversation.
“You can use it to effortlessly plan and book travel itineraries, design and book entire dinner parties, or find specialists and schedule appointments,” OpenAI said in a statement. “ChatGPT requests permission before taking actions of consequence, and you can easily interrupt, take over the browser, or stop tasks at any point.”
Users can activate agent mode via the tools dropdown in ChatGPT’s composer window. The agent uses a suite of tools, including a visual browser, a text-based browser, terminal access, and API integration. It can also work with connectors like Gmail and GitHub, provided users log in via a secure takeover mode.
All tasks are carried out on a virtual machine that preserves state across tool switches. This allows ChatGPT to browse the web, download files, run commands, and review outputs, all within a single session. Users can interrupt or redirect tasks at any time without losing progress.
ChatGPT agent is currently limited to 400 messages per month for Pro users and 40 for Plus and Team users. Additional usage is available through credit-based options. Support for the European Economic Area and Switzerland is in progress.
The standalone Operator research preview will be phased out in the coming weeks. Users who prefer longer-form, slower responses can still access deep research mode via the dropdown menu.
While slideshow generation is available, OpenAI noted that formatting may be inconsistent, and export issues remain. Improvements to this capability are under development.
The system showed strong performance across benchmarks. On Humanity’s Last Exam, it scored a new state-of-the-art pass@1 rate of 41.6%, increasing to 44.4% when using parallel attempts. On DSBench, which tests data science workflows, it reached 89.9% on analysis tasks and 85.5% on modelling, significantly higher than human baselines.
In investment banking modelling tasks, the agent achieved a 71.3% mean accuracy, outperforming OpenAI’s o3 model and the earlier deep research tool. It also scored 68.9% on BrowseComp and 65.4% on WebArena, both benchmarks measuring real-world web navigation and task completion.
However, OpenAI acknowledged new risks with this capability. “This is the first time users can ask ChatGPT to take actions on the live web,” the company said. “We’ve placed a particular emphasis on safeguarding ChatGPT agent against adversarial manipulation through prompt injection.”
To counter these risks, ChatGPT requires explicit confirmation before high-impact actions like purchases, restricts actions such as bank transfers, and offers settings to delete browsing data and log out of sessions. Sensitive inputs entered during takeover sessions are not collected or stored.
The new system is classified under OpenAI’s “High Biological and Chemical” capability tier, triggering additional safeguards. The company has worked with external biosecurity experts and introduced monitoring tools, dual-use refusal training, and threat modelling to prevent misuse.
AI in Travel
Lovable Becomes AI Unicorn with $200 Million Series A Led by Accel in Less than 8 Months
Stockholm-based AI startup Lovable has raised $200 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, pushing its valuation to $1.8 billion. The announcement comes just eight months after the company’s launch.
Lovable allows users to build websites and apps using natural language prompts, similar to platforms like Cursor. The company claims over 2.3 million active users, with more than 180,000 of them now paying subscribers.
CEO Anton Osika said the company has reached $75 million in annual recurring revenue within seven months.
“Today, there are 47M developers worldwide. Lovable is going to produce 1B potential builders,” he said in a post on X.
The latest round saw participation from existing backers, including 20VC, byFounders, Creandum, Hummingbird, and Visionaries Club. In February, Creandum led a $15 million pre-Series A investment when Lovable had 30,000 paying customers and $17 million in ARR, having spent only $2 million.
The company currently operates with a team of 45 full-time employees. The Series A round also attracted a long list of angel investors, including Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Remote CEO Job van der Voort, Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield, and HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah.
Most of Lovable’s users are non-technical individuals building prototypes that are later developed further with engineering support. According to a press release, more than 10 million projects have been created on the platform to date.
Osika said the company is not targeting existing developers but a new category of users entirely. “99% of the world’s best ideas are trapped in the heads of people who can’t code. They have problems. They know the solutions. They just can’t build them.”
Lovable is also being used by enterprises such as Klarna and HubSpot, and its leadership sees the platform evolving into a tool for building full-scale production applications.
“Every day, brilliant founders and operators with game-changing ideas hit the same wall: they don’t have a developer to realise their vision quickly and easily,” Osika said in a statement.
Osika also said on X that he has become an angel investor in a software startup built using Lovable.
In another recent example, Osika noted that a Brazilian edtech company built an app using Lovable that generated $3 million in 48 hours.
Lovable’s growth trajectory suggests increased adoption among both individual users and enterprise customers, positioning it as a significant player in the growing AI-powered software creation market.
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