OpenAI Acquires AI Travel Agent Odessia and Hires Sonder Founder Francis Davidson
Summary
OpenAI acquires Odessia, an AI travel agent built by Sonder founder Francis Davidson, who says he now works for OpenAI on the future of travel. Terms were not disclosed, and Odessia's tool is already shut down. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the hire but announced no travel products.
Key Points
- Odessia raised a $6 million pre-seed round led by Sequoia before launching its AI travel agent about five months ago.
- An OpenAI spokesperson says 1.2 billion people turn to ChatGPT each week for tasks including planning a trip.
- OpenAI counts Booking.com, Expedia and KAYAK as customers or partners.