Travel search and discovery engine UpTake today announced it has raised more than $10 million in new funding, including a Series B round of investment led by Trinity Ventures and Shasta Ventures, and additional backing from other sources.  The new funding builds on the company’s Series A round of $4 million from Shasta Ventures announced in December 2007, when UpTake opened the site to its first private beta users.

Founded by the former GM of Yahoo! Travel Yen Lee, UpTake went into public beta in May with the travel industry’s most comprehensive database for hotels and attractions.  UpTake’s vacation search helps travelers make better decisions by providing more than 20 million online reviews and opinions from other travelers across the web, and delivering results that match user preferences. The site includes content from thousands of trusted web sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Fodors, goCityKids, Virtual Tourist, and Yahoo! Travel.

UpTake will use the new funding to achieve three main objectives for the company and its product. First, it will expand search beyond UpTake Hotels into new categories including:  UpTake Lodging, UpTake Things to Do, UpTake Restaurants and UpTake Beaches.  Second, UpTake will invest in its search technology to improve travel recommendations based on its analysis and filtering of collective intelligence. Lastly, it will pursue opportunities to grow the company through acquisitions.

“We looked at dozens of investment opportunities in the online travel industry for several years before deciding to invest in UpTake,” said Patricia Nakache, general partner, Trinity Ventures.  “UpTake has a distinct approach that addresses a big search and discovery gap in the travel market and is run by a proven CEO and team.”

UpTake is also unveiling a new Content Partner Program, enabling publishers to provide the most up-to-date content to the UpTake visitor. UpTake partners include: BedandBreakfast.com, Restauranti.ca, OpenTable, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Away.com, and FriendCommunications. “Bedandbreakfast.com has the most comprehensive database of B&Bs and UpTake has the most comprehensive database of travel information to help travelers make more informed decisions to improve their vacation experience. By joining UpTake’s Content Partner program, BedandBreakfast.com and UpTake are working together to ensure that travelers can find the right B&B given their travel preferences,” said John Banczak, chief operating officer of BedandBreakfast.com.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Alts, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.