London-based Lighthouse, a commercial intelligence platform for the travel and hospitality industry with an office in Grapevine, recently announced a roughly $370 million Series C growth investment led by global investment firm KKR.
Lighthouse said the investment enhances its mission to reimagine commercial strategy for the $15 billion travel and hospitality technology market. Its platform is supported by proprietary technology that processes more than 400 terabytes of travel and market data daily and leverages AI to deliver real-time insights, enabling customers to make better and more efficient operational decisions, the company said.
Proceeds from the investment will be used to drive continued product innovation across the platform, strategic acquisitions, and global expansion efforts, Lighthouse said. They’ll also be used to bolster the company’s “significant presence” in Grapevine, where there are plans to expand the local team across engineering, customer success, and sales roles.
Lighthouse, which has more than 700 employees worldwide, said it is “trusted by more than 70,000 hotels” in 185 countries.
“We’re just getting started in making hospitality data and tools more powerful, accessible, and affordable,” Lighthouse CEO Sean Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “This investment by KKR significantly accelerates our ability to enhance our commercial platform through expanded AI capabilities and additional data sets, enabling us to better serve our existing customers while continuing to expand across the hospitality market.”
An ‘exceptional ability’ to support hotels
KKR said it has long supported technology-focused growth companies, having invested roughly $23 billion in related investments since 2010 via its private equity and growth equity funds. It’s also built a dedicated global team of nearly 70 investment professionals with deep technology growth equity expertise.
“Lighthouse has demonstrated an exceptional ability to support hoteliers of all sizes—ranging from global chains to independent properties—by addressing the unique needs of each segment,” Stephen Shanley, partner and head of tech growth in Europe at KKR, said in a statement. “Their strong track record, customer loyalty, and proven ability to deliver value across varied markets position them as the leading platform in this space.”
Lighthouse said the latest funding builds on its $80 million Series B investment round, which was completed in November 2021. Existing investors Spectrum Equity, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, and Highgate Technology Ventures will continue participating in the business.
KKR is making the Lighthouse investment through its Next Generation Technology III Fund.
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