Switzerland-headquartered Smeetz has today (Tuesday) announced it has raised CHF$4.1m (£3m/$4m/€4m) in Series A funding to grow and establish Dynamic Pricing in the attractions industry.
Smeetz, a data-driven ticketing and dynamic pricing software supplier for attractions and cultural venues, will use the funds to develop its human resources and research and development departments.
The round was co-led by capital venture firm Privilège Ventures and financial services association NewOak. It was supported by DAA Capital Partners and Akiden Ventures. The round will be followed by a second closing in the coming months, to which the Zürcher Kantonalbank (Zurich Cantonal Bank) has already committed.
Morgan Siffert, chief technology officer and co-founder of Smeetz, said: “We know the future of the attraction industry lies in data and artificial intelligence (AI). AI-powered sales optimisation has been our focus since day one and we will keep pushing in that direction by extending our engineering team with the brightest and most agile profiles.”
Smeetz plans to expand to the US, after launching operations in France earlier this year.
Alexandre Martin, chief executive and co-founder of Smeetz, said: “Our next stop is the US. The US leisure and entertainment industry is already thriving in 2022 with +14% in market growth compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic peak. In a market that is more advanced and prone to dynamic pricing, we are extremely confident of the product-market fit of our AI-powered unified commerce SaaS (software-as-a-service).”
On the latest funding round, Jacqueline Ruedin Rüsch, founding general partner of Privilège Ventures, said: “Co-leading the round with our friends at NewOak was a smooth and efficient process. I’m really excited to start this new venture together with Alexandre and his team and we are flattered by the opportunity to be part of Smeetz.”
Gregory Armstrong, chief executive of NewOak, added: “We have followed Smeetz since its first days and were impressed by the milestones achieved by the company. We are honoured to have been chosen as a co-lead alongside Privilège Ventures with whom we share common values about early-stage investing.
“Being part of this Series A shows our continuous dedication to help the Swiss start-ups to expand. We wish Alexandre and the Smeetz family a lot more success in a field that they are disrupting with class.”