With backing from investors and support from travel industry leaders, Holiwise is building an AI travel agent that can plan and book personalised leisure and corporate trips in seconds.
London, UK, 26 August 2025 - Holiwise (holiwise.com) the London-based AI-powered travel agency founded by Swedish entrepreneurs that is transforming how premium travellers plan and book trips, has raised a €1.45M pre-seed in an oversubscribed round backed by senior executives from global firms including Bank of America, Barclays, Google, and Goldman Sachs.
The raise was led by Bobby Previti, Head of SSA & Covered Bond Trading at Bank of America, and joined by Ulf Nilsson, Nordics & Eastern Europe CEO at DHL, who is also joining Holiwise's board; Sabri EL JAILANI and Filippo Zorzoli of Barclays Investment Bank; and Houman Ashrafzadeh, Founder of Padium and Co-founder of Urban Greens.
The pre-seed round coincides with Holiwise's integrations with several of the travel industry's most influential platforms. These include HBX Group, a leading independent B2B marketplace for travel technology; and Amadeus, the world's largest global distribution system (GDS) provider offering real-time access to flights and accommodation data. The partnerships enable the platform to offer end-to-end trip planning and booking - spanning flights, stays, and experiences - across more than 10,000 destinations worldwide.
Together, the fresh capital and industry partnerships will be used to accelerate development of Holiwise's AI travel agent and dynamic packaging models, expand platform capabilities, and scale its premium concierge service.
“We've identified a clear gap in the market between mainstream online travel agencies and high-end travel concierges,” said Albin Eriksson Lippe, CEO and Co-Founder of Holiwise. “Premium travellers are underserved, often forced to choose between impersonal, self-serve booking platforms or expensive concierge services that are slow to access. Holiwise is building an AI travel agent that combines the convenience of technology with the quality of a tailored luxury experience. It can instantly plan and book complete personalised itineraries, including synchronised flights, premium stays, and curated experiences for individuals or groups.”
Bobby Previti, lead investor, comments: “I agree with the founders' vision that there is a gap in the market for premium travellers. Holiwise is taking an innovative approach to solve the problem, with an exceptional team that understands the problem well. I strongly believe that the team is in the right place at the right time, working towards a vision that I'm keen to support.”
Unlike traditional travel agencies that rely on human agents, or online travel agencies that force travellers to piece together fragmented bookings, Holiwise uses proprietary deep learning and dynamic packaging models to create personalised trips in seconds. Users can personalise trips by mood, budget, location or timeframe, and book entire packages - including flights, accommodation and activities - with a single click
The platform is already live with tens of thousands of monthly users - with over 80% of customers returning to book again. In 2024, Holiwise was named one of FutureTravel's Top 10 Travel Startups Globally.
Holiwise offers a complimentary, invite-only premium account status designed for discerning travellers, startups, and SMEs. Premium members gain access to Holiwise's private platform, featuring insider rates on over one million global stays, often significantly better than those found on mainstream travel sites. Members also benefit from priority concierge support for flights, accommodation, restaurants, and more, along with personalised travel recommendations powered by Holiwise's models. Users report an average saving of over £250 per trip by booking through Holiwise.
Holiwise was born from the founders' own frustration with travel planning. Swedish entrepreneurs Albin Eriksson Lippe (CEO) and Kristian Lexeklint (CFO) met at school in Sweden before both moving to the UK to study at the University of Warwick. Having travelled together extensively over the years, they repeatedly found the trip discovery and planning process fragmented and time-consuming - caught between endless booking sites and the high cost of luxury concierges. Spotting a clear gap in the market, they set out to build a better way to plan premium trips, combining the ease and scale of technology with the personalisation of a human travel agent.
Together with Co-founder and CTO Apurva Amin - a senior software engineer with over fifteen years experience spanning Microsoft, payment platforms, and hedge funds - and Founding Engineer Maria Angelica Ancheta, formerly a senior software engineer at Spotify, they brought Holiwise to life. Albin had previously spent five years covering macro hedge funds as a salesperson at Goldman Sachs, while Kristian had four years of experience as a derivatives trader and salesperson at Barclays.
About Holiwise
Holiwise is an AI-powered travel agency on a mission to redefine how premium travellers discover and book trips. Using in-house deep learning and dynamic packaging models, Holiwise analyses millions of data points to find personalised travel experiences at the best price - combining flights and stays into one-click bookings.
The competition is open to individuals worldwide. Participants under the age of 18 are eligible to enter but must travel with an adult if they win. Employees of Holiwise and their immediate families, or anyone professionally associated with the competition, are not eligible to enter. We require parental/guardian consent for prize redemption.
To enter the competition, you must complete all the following steps:
The winner will receive a £500 voucher to be used towards a hotel booking on the Holiwise platform. The voucher is redeemable for one hotel booking only, and must be used on a hotel listed on Holiwise. The winner must contact Holiwise directly via social media to claim the voucher.
The £500 voucher can only be used towards a hotel booking listed on Holiwise's website. The voucher is valid for one booking only and is non-transferable. The winner must claim the prize within 6 months of the announcement date. No cash alternative will be offered. Any additional costs, including taxes, booking fees, or upgrades, are the responsibility of the winner.
The competition ends on 10th February. The winner will be selected randomly from all eligible entries and contacted via direct message on Instagram or TikTok. The winner must respond within 7 days of notification. If the winner does not respond within this period, a new winner will be selected. The winner will be contacted via an official Holiwise account.
By entering this competition, participants consent to their name being used for promotional purposes in connection with this competition, without further compensation. In the event of a dispute, Holiwise’s decision is final. The competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram or TikTok. By entering, participants release Instagram and TikTok from any and all liability related to this competition.
Participants agree to the collection and processing of their data by Holiwise for the purposes of this competition only. Data will not be shared with third parties.
Holiwise will not be liable for any loss, injury, or damage to participants or their property arising from participation in this competition or the use of the voucher.
These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.