Revolut has acquired Swifty, a travel agent startup based in Germany, as the company builds out its AI assistant offering.
Europe’s most valuable fintech Revolut has doubled down on M&A in recent years, having acquired hospitality point-of-sale business Nobly in 2021 and Indian foreign exchange company Arvog Forex the year after. Earlier this year, it moved to acquire Argentinian lender Cetelem for an undisclosed sum.
Now the company has confirmed the acquisition of Swifty, an AI travel agent startup incubated by German airline Lufthansa’s startup accelerator unit, for an undisclosed sum.
“This acquisition strengthens our position at the intersection of finance, AI and lifestyle,” says Christopher Guttridge, Head of Loyalty at Revolut in a statement. “Through this move we’re gaining both talent and expertise in AI driven travel solutions, which will help us deliver even more personalised and seamless experiences to our customers.”
Revolut’s acquisition of Swifty is set to complement its offering in travel. The fintech first pushed into travel services in 2021, when it launched the ability to book travel accommodation in-app. Its since expanded on those features with airline miles products and the ability to book travel experiences such as tour tickets.
The acquisition will see Swift’s AI technology along with its cofounders Stanislav Bondarenko and Tomasz Przedmojski join Revolut. Swifty’s AI agents are designed to autonomously handle the travel booking process through a conversational interface.
The technology will be integrated into Revolut’s Loyalty program to “build next generation personalised customer experiences” and will be used in the development of Revolut’s forthcoming AI financial assistant.
