Layla

Travel Tech · Artificial Intelligence

Acquisition

Expedia acquires Berlin AI trip-planner Layla for undisclosed sum

Buying nimble AI startups has become the fastest route for legacy travel giants to secure scarce agentic AI talent.

• Expedia Group acquired Layla, a Berlin-based AI trip-planning and booking startup, in a deal announced Friday with financial terms undisclosed.
• Founded in 2023 by CEO Saad Saeed, Layla uses conversational AI to help travelers plan and book trips with live pricing data.
• Layla had raised only about $5.7 million (€5 million) total from investors including First Minute Capital and M13, and had roughly 25 employees, according to Crunchbase and Pitchbook estimates cited by Skift.
• Layla will keep operating independently, with its team working alongside Expedia's brands including Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
• The deal follows Expedia's November 2025 launch of a ChatGPT app letting users research and compare travel options directly in conversational AI interfaces.
• The acquisition underscores how travel incumbents are choosing to buy scarce AI agent talent and technology rather than build it in-house, accelerating consolidation around conversational booking.