Latest news with #HarmanSinghNarula
Skift
8 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Canary Technologies Founders: What's Next After Raising $80 Million for Hotel Tech
Funding has been tight for travel tech startups, but Canary Technologies hasn't had much trouble. Venture capital funding has been a struggle for tech startups this year, but not for Canary Technologies. The hotel tech company says it wasn't actively fundraising when Brighton Park Capital approached the founders about a deal. 'We hadn't actually burned through almost any of the capital that we had raised on our last round. But the opportunity emerged,' said Canary CEO Harman Singh Narula. 'There was the right kind of investor with the right vision … so it made sense for us to move forward.' Canary recently closed a series D round of $80 million at a valuation of $600 million. Insight Partners led the company's last two rounds, all with continued investments from F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator, and Commerce Ventures. The platform by San Francisco-based Canary includes products for mobile check-in and checkout, upselling, guest messaging, and digital tipping. It's a type of add-on tech often integrated into a hotel's property management system. And it's an area with many startups and small companies, but few have raised this level of capital. Canary said its tech supports more than 20,000 hotels for clients including Best Western, Aimbridge Hospitality, Marriott, Wyndham, TUI Hotels & Resorts, and others. Canary has doubled revenue every year for the past few years, Narula said. There are nearly 300 employees, and the company is hiring across departments. Skift spoke with Narula and SJ Sawhney, president and co-founder, about what comes next. Doubling Down on AI Canary has released a few products powered by generative AI, meant to streamline repetitive tasks and free hotel staff. The company last year added a generative AI chatbot for guest messaging, which is meant to answer specific property questions and sell add-ons like late check-out, without input from front desk staff. A new AI voicebot product is meant to triage guest phone calls. And there's a new AI chatbot for hotel websites to drive direct bookings. The company uses multiple AI models to power its software, layering its own tech and data on top. 'It is answering 80% of guest messages. It is creating content that they don't have to come up with and write. It is, on a daily basis, making a real impact — that they're paying for,' Sawhney said. Industry leaders have said that they've found the most use for AI in operational tasks, while products in other areas have struggled to take off. Marriott, for example, is developing an AI tool to automate the tedious task for room assignment. And Hilton is exploring how to use AI to flag guests that may want room upgrades. A New Hotel Tech System Canary's founders want hoteliers to see the emerging guest management system – 'GMS' in the industry – as a piece of tech that they can't go without, taking a similar trajectory as the reservation management system. 'I think the GMS is certainly a category that — we're hearing a lot from hoteliers — has been this part of the tech stack that has come into focus,' Narula said. Hotels in North America have led adoption, and now the company wants to continue expanding globally. 'We're also seeing globally, a lot of what we think of as mid-market type brands portfolios really stepping up and having a lot of demand around this as well,' Narula said. The company has made an effort over the past year to localize its service in different geographic markets. In France, for example, the dashboard is in French and customer service representatives speak French. 'The investment last year was a big catalyst for all of our localization efforts to achieve that goal,' Sawhney said. Canary has predominantly grown organically, not via M&A, but Narula said that could change. 'There may be some opportunities that emerge that might make sense — where it helps service or provide specific needs to our customers — where we can help fill those gaps,' Narula said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canary raises $80m to fuel expansion in hospitality AI
Hotel guest management technology company Canary Technologies has secured an $80m Series D funding round to propel its expansion worldwide in the hospitality AI arena. The funding round was led by Brighton Park Capital, with contributions from existing investors which encompass F-Prime Capital, Insight Partners, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator, and Commerce Ventures. This additional capital boosts Canary's valuation to an estimated $600m. Canary Technologies CEO and co-founder Harman Singh Narula said: 'Through intelligent, enterprise-grade solutions, we're helping hotels run smarter, deliver faster service and create more personalised guest experiences at scale. 'This latest investment reflects both the extraordinary dedication of the team, whose work is redefining what's possible, and the growing impact Canary is making across the industry. We're energised by the strong demand and excited to expand our partnerships with many of the world's leading hoteliers.' The latest financial milestone follows a $50m Series C funding round last year. The company has forged partnerships with hotel brands such as Marriott, Wyndham, Best Western, and TUI Hotels & Resorts. In response to the increasing worldwide demand for AI-driven guest engagement solutions, Canary has also introduced AI products, including the AI Voice platform and Webchat. The fresh investment will be channelled towards accelerating Canary's international presence. Canary Technologies president and co-founder SJ Sawhney said: 'Our AI solutions are crafted in close partnership with customers, purpose-built for hospitality, and deeply inspired by hoteliers' day-to-day workflows. 'When our hotel partners dream of better service, smarter operations, or more delightful guest experiences, our team works hard to turn those dreams into reality with precision, scale and purpose.' Serving over 20,000 hotels across more than 100 countries, Canary Technologies is a preferred enterprise partner for various brands worldwide. Brighton Park Capital partner Kevin Magan said: 'We're thrilled to partner with Harman, SJ, and the entire team as they accelerate their momentum and solidify their position as a category leader. 'Their dedication to delivering enterprise-grade, high-impact solutions for hoteliers positions them for long-term success and sustained global leadership.' Earlier this year, Aimbridge Hospitality adopted Canary's Digital Tipping solution to enhance guest and associate experiences. "Canary raises $80m to fuel expansion in hospitality AI" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hotel management platform Canary nabs $80M Series D from YC, Insight Partners
Canary, the hotel guest management platform, announced Thursday the raise of an $80 million Series D in a round led by Brighton Park Capital. Harman Singh Narula and childhood friend SJ Sawhney launched the company in 2018 to help hotels digitize and automate guest interactions. The company has raised nearly $180 million in funding to date. 'Running a hotel is increasingly complex,' Singh Narula told TechCrunch. 'Guest expectations are constantly evolving, and staffing shortages continue to strain operations. We felt the hotel market was underserved by technology and that modern solutions could help hoteliers elevate the guest experience, improve profitability, and operate more efficiently.' Singh Narula said Canary offers a product suite that encompasses every part of the guest journey, from booking to departure. He said, for example, the company offers services that let hotel guests check in on mobile devices or text the front desk for help. And it's leaning into AI in serving its customers' guests through voice, web, and text with an LLM, sometimes offering instant responses. 'The guest's user experience is completely customized and branded for each hotel,' he continued. 'So, as a guest, you may not know that Canary helped enable your travel experience. With that said, if you've stayed in hotels recently, odds are you've utilized Canary as we now work with 20,000 hotels across 100-plus countries.' Companies that use Canary include the Rosewood Hotels, Marriott, Best Western, and Wyndham. Not that Canary has no competition: Other management software companies in this space include Cloudbeds and Revinate, according to PitchBook. Singh Narula described his fundraising efforts as opportunistic. 'While we weren't actively fundraising, the opportunity emerged to bring in the right partners with strong alignment on vision, values, and where we're headed,' he said. Other investors, including Y Combinator, Insight Partners, and Fidelity, participated in the round. Singh Narula said the capital will be used to help grow the company and hire more employees. 'We see travel as one of the most powerful ways people connect with the world,' he said. 'We believe Canary has an important role to play in making those experiences more personal, more memorable, and more meaningful.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
