OpenAI acquired AI travel startup Odessia, its founder Francis Davidson announced on LinkedIn on 10 November, Digital Journal reported. The deal brings the former chief executive of hospitality company Sonder into OpenAI to work on travel, while Odessia’s own service has closed, TechCrunch reported.
Key points
- Davidson is joining OpenAI to work on travel after the acquisition.
- Odessia raised $6 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital.
- Davidson says Odessia used agents for business operations as well as its travel service.
- OpenAI has not announced a new travel-specific product.
Odessia raised $6 million before the sale
Davidson launched Odessia five months before the acquisition, Skift reported. Digital Journal described the startup as less than a year old. It had raised $6 million in a pre-seed round led by Sequoia Capital, TechCrunch reported.
Odessia’s agent could plan and book flights, hotels and itineraries through a conversation. The company opened a free concierge reached by text to the public on 14 October, Skift reported.
Davidson said the service had attracted “tens of thousands” of early users over summer 2026. He said they planned more than $60 million a year in travel through it, according to Digital Journal. That is an estimate of travel users planned, rather than Odessia’s revenue or completed bookings, FTN News reported.
Davidson used agents throughout Odessia
Davidson also used AI agents inside Odessia, assigning them work in marketing, customer support, finance, legal, design and partnerships, Digital Journal reported. The agents could access company material in Slack, email, Google Drive and meeting recordings.
Davidson said his own use of agents rose 25-fold during 2026. He described work that previously took around 40 hours taking about two with agents, including review and corrections. Those are his accounts of working at Odessia, not a benchmark for other companies.
People still reviewed the agents’ output and made decisions. Davidson had previously co-founded Sonder in 2014 and resigned as its CEO in June 2025. The hospitality company later entered bankruptcy after a partnership with Marriott fell through, TechCrunch reported.
OpenAI already works with travel companies
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Davidson’s hire to TechCrunch, saying, “We’re thrilled to welcome Francis to OpenAI.” OpenAI has not announced a new travel-specific product. It already counts Booking.com, Expedia and KAYAK among its customers or partners.
The purchase closes a consumer service that was available to travellers only weeks earlier. Odessia’s website now directs customers with existing bookings or travel plans to contact support, FTN News reported.
