Roami Raises $14 Million for Group Travel Vacation Rental Platform

Justin Dawes, Skift

March 10th, 2023 at 12:30 AM EST

Roami has a unique approach for acquiring short-term rentals units, and Doroni Aerospace wants to make personal aircraft that can be stored in a two-car garage.

Justin Dawes

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at [email protected] if you have funding news.

Three travel tech startups raised $23.5 million this week.

>>Roami, a vacation rental platform, has raised $14 million in Series A funding and rebranded from its former name, Sextant Stays. The round was led by Vigo Capital.

Miami-based Roami operates more than 500 units in South Florida and New Orleans, all designed for group travel. The company manages the entire buildings that contain these units, not just specific floors or rooms in various buildings.

The funding will go toward expanding in local markets and beyond.

Roami has grown 800 percent in the last three years and had over $40 million in revenue in 2022, the company said.

Two of the startup's founders, Brandreth Canaley and Iskander Karimov, were featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022 for consumer tech. The startup also ranked No. 442 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in 2022.

"The company's consistent growth since 2020 despite volatile external conditions proves that they truly understand how to satisfy the needs of the modern Roamer and we’re looking forward to seeing their continued growth and expansion," said Kirill Vinogradov of Vigo Capital.

>>Evera, an electric vehicle cab service provider, has raised $7 million in two parts of pre-Series A funding. It was initially led by IEG Investment Banking Group, followed by Devonshire Capital subsidiary Direct Capital and Westova Global.

The startup, based in New Delhi, operates more than 230 cabs in terminal 3 of the New Delhi Airport. The startup plans to have nearly 2,000 more by the end of the year, with plans to continue expanding the business.

>>Doroni Aerospace raised nearly $2.5 million from more than 1,000 people through a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. The company was valued at $158.8 million through the campaign.

Florida-based Doroni is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft meant for public sales.

"We’re building what we believe will become the go-to family vehicle of the future, capable of revolutionizing the way we live, commute, and even build cities if scaled correctly," the company said on its crowdfunding page. "While the industry is currently getting commercial air taxi operations off the ground, Doroni is aiming to disrupt the personal mobility market, as we believe personal eVTOLs — not commercial air taxis — are the future of transportation."

The company said it has developed the tech components and made partnerships to speed up production, with plans to complete a flying prototype in the coming months.

>>WeSki, a booking platform for skiers and snowboarders, raised an undisclosed amount from Roch Ventures. (See Skift's story.)

Skift Cheat Sheet

Seed capital is money used to start a business, often led by angel investors and friends or family.

Series A financing is typically drawn from venture capitalists. The round aims to help a startup's founders make sure that their product is something that customers truly want to buy.

Series B financing is mainly about venture capitalist firms helping a company grow faster. These fundraising rounds can assist in recruiting skilled workers and developing cost-effective marketing.

Series C financing is ordinarily about helping a company expand, such as through acquisitions. In addition to VCs, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.

Series D, E, and, beyond These mainly mature businesses and the funding round may help a company prepare to go public or be acquired. A variety of types of private investors might participate.

Get the travel industry's daily must-read email 6 days a week

Justin Dawes, Skift

March 10th, 2023 at 12:30 AM EST

Tags: electric cars, eVTOL, funding, group travel, short-term rentals, startups, taxis, travel tech, travel technology, vcroundup, venture capital

Photo credit: Roami manages entire buildings rather than various individual units. Roami / Roami

Support high-quality journalism covering the travel industry

Get the latest news about hotels and short-term rentals delivered to your inbox once a week.