HiJiffy, a Portuguese company specialised in conversational Artificial Intelligence for hotels, raised €3.8 million in funding. Further goals for the business include enhancing and strengthening its presence in the UK and France and expanding into the DACH region (German, Austrian, and Swiss markets).
The funding round, led by Caixa Capital, elevates the amount of investment already raised by the company to €6.2 million. Caixa Capital was joined by Lince Capital, as well as Portugal Ventures, which had already invested in HiJiffy back in 2020.
In addition to the €2.5 million invested by the venture capital companies, €1.3 million was granted by the European Commission through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) within the scope of the “Accelerate and Transform Tourism” agenda, a project composed by 30 leading companies in the tourism sector in Portugal.
The successful funding round will enable HiJiffy to expand its team from 30 to more than 50 employees, as well as launch a new product that promises to revolutionise the way hotels interact with their guests. “Having the United Kingdom, France, Portugal and Spain as our main markets, we currently have over 1,800 hotels in more than 50 countries,” explains Tiago Araújo, CEO of HiJiffy.
Marking a new era for the company, HiJiffy also unveiled the evolution of its brand, unchanged since its foundation in 2016. The company currently aims to reinforce its investment in the British and French markets with the goal of becoming the main local reference for the digitisation and automation of hotels’ interactions with their guests.
“The steep growth of HiJiffy in the UK and France, where we have been actively present since 2021, working with names like Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, reinforces our confidence to continue expanding our local structures and developing specific solutions for British and French hoteliers. In the coming months, we will enhance our efforts to assure market leadership,” adds Araújo.
In line with the strategy to establish itself as the leading provider of conversational Artificial Intelligence for hotels in Europe, HiJiffy is committed to making a strong entry into the German, Swiss and Austrian markets.
To support its growth, HiJiffy plans to hire 20 professionals by the end of the year. There are several open vacancies in the areas of Product, Sales, Marketing, Customer Support and Human Resources.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/06/lisbon-based-hijiffy-raises-e3-8-million-to-expand-its-conversational-ai-for-hotels-to-dach-region/
