Startup Lighthouse Reaches $1 Billion Valuation, Becoming Europe’s Latest Unicorn

The SaaS company Lighthouse, specializing in the travel and hospitality industry, raised $370 million in a Series C round. The AI-powered data analytics startup based in London became Europe’s latest unicorn after this funding as it reached a $1 billion valuation.

According to a recent announcement, the funding comes from the investment firm KKR and the software provider expects to grow, expand, and invest in its current talents and network. Lighthouse currently has as clients over 70,000 hotels across 185 countries, including large brands like NH Hotel Group, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Radisson Hotels.

“We are thrilled to announce that we’ve secured a $370 million investment from leading global investment firm KKR to support the next phase of our growth,” said Sean Fitzpatrick, Lighthouse CEO, in the public statement. “With KKR’s support, we will accelerate the development of our next generation data and AI capabilities in the Lighthouse platform, giving our customers access to tools that deliver real business impact”

According to Sifted, the investment raised moves the startup to the unicorn category, raising a total of $470 million in funding. Lighthouse is now the twelfth unicorn of 2024 in Europe, following the lead of the German gym software provider Egym, the UK-based menstrual flow tracking app Flo, and the French AI startup Poolside.

Other big tech companies in Europe have also announced raising funds for growth and expansion. The London-based startup Tessl, the AI software development company, recently raised $125 million, reaching a $500 million valuation. The French company LightOn recently became the first generative AI company to be listed in the European market.