In a positive post-corona sign of life, Israeli travel tech startup Hotelmize announced that it has completed a Series B investment round co-led by Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, associated with e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

Founded in 2016, Hotelmize is a travel technology startup that employs more than 20 people in its Tel Aviv headquarters and has sales offices in London, Bangkok, Buenos Aires and Mallorca.

Co-led by Israel’s Brilliance Ventures, the round is set to accelerate company growth and to expand its activity in the Asia Pacific region. The size of the round was not disclosed.

Hotelmize’s AI-based technology automatically buys and sells hotel rooms to generate additional profits for travel or hotel companies. To date, it has handled over $2 billion of reservations and has created over $100 million worth of transactions.

“The tourism industry is one of the most competitive industries worldwide. Unlike others, travel industry players are offering highly similar products, which makes it exceptionally difficult to differentiate from their competition.,” says Hotelmize founder and CEO Dor Krubiner.

“The adoption of advanced technologies as we offer at Hotelmize is a sure way for travel and tourism organizations to keep their edge. In the coming years, we will see travel industry players transform themselves from ‘commercial enterprises’ into ‘technology enterprises.’ The demand for advanced data-driven intelligent solutions is already growing at a rapid pace.”

CindyChow, executive director of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, said: “As we come out from the current difficult situation under the effect of COVID-19, we believe that Hotelmize can contribute to the recovery of the hotel industry with its unique value proposition.”