WeRoadthe Milan-based group travel startup has raised a $58 million Series C round led by Airbnb as it prepares for its first major expansion outside of Europe. The funding brings the company’s total capital raised to approximately $100 million and will fund WeRoad’s US push, starting in Austin.
The new investment reflects a bet that the next generation of travel companies can look less like booking platforms and more like social platforms designed to facilitate real-world connections.
The US launch also comes as loneliness, particularly among younger consumers, has become both a public health concern and an emerging business opportunity. When much of the tech industry remains focused on artificial intelligence, WeRoad is positioning itself as part of the growing “IRL economy,” a class of startups that monetize offline interaction rather than screen time. Companies like Timeleft, 222, and Pie pursue similar ideas through dinners, clubs, events, and community-based experiences.
The idea behind WeRoad came from the founders – Paolo De Nadai, Fabio Bin and Erika De Santi – who were looking for the connection themselves.
“It started out of a very personal need. When you finish college and start working, it becomes harder to find people to travel with. Friends were settling down, having kids, moving away, or just couldn’t make the schedules line up anymore,” De Nadai told TechCrunch. “My co-founder Fabio and I tried companies that offer similar group travel experiences for individual travelers, but while the trips were good, something was missing. The guides were professional local experts and the groups were mixed in age and people didn’t really see eye to eye. People were traveling together, but they weren’t really connecting.”
The founders’ response was to redesign group travel around shared interests. WeRoad trips are primarily designed for younger travelers and are grouped around common interests and travel styles. Customers can book trips through the platform based on themes such as beach holidays or skiing.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What if we created trips for Millennials and Gen Z travelers, bringing together people from the same age groups with shared cultural references but completely different backgrounds and focused on creating real connections between them?’ De Nadai added.
Before each trip begins, travelers are added to a WhatsApp group managed by the group leader so members can start getting to know each other beforehand. Groups typically include between eight and 15 travelers.
“The biggest worry people have is rarely the destination,” De Nadai said, but usually the worry is that they won’t connect with the team. To address this, WeRoad intentionally structures itineraries around social dynamics. More adventurous or cooperative activities are often planned early in the trip to help break the ice.
Most itineraries last between 10 and 12 days, although the company has also introduced shorter weekend formats aimed at first-time customers. According to WeRoad, about 60% of travelers end up booking another trip.
Additionally, instead of traditional tour guides, WeRoad has “group leaders,” coordinators closer in age to travelers who act more like travel companions. The company now works with more than 4,000 group leaders worldwide.
“We’re not looking for destination experts, but people with travel experience and strong skills. Can they lead a team, manage tension, adapt when plans change and help strangers connect?” said De Nandai.
WeRoad has also begun to expand beyond the trips themselves. In 2025, the company launched WeMeet, an app focused on local in-person gatherings such as dinner parties, hikes, yoga classes, running groups, after-work drinks and board game nights. WeRoad says more than 50,000 people attended WeMeet events in 35 cities last year, while the app reached 150,000 downloads.
The company says WeMeet will also play a central role in its US expansion strategy. Instead of scaling nationally right away, WeRoad plans to focus on a small number of cities first, starting in Austin, where it will recruit team leaders, organize local events and build community partnerships before expanding further.
“We will be launching WeMeet events in multiple US cities throughout 2026, starting with Austin because of its incredible energy and vibrant community scene,” De Nadai said.
Whether companies can build lasting businesses around loneliness and social connection remains an open question. But investors are increasingly betting that the demand is real.
WeRoad says it generated €130m in revenue in 2025, up 30% year-on-year, while taking more than 100,000 travelers on journeys last year alone. Since launching in 2017, the company says it has organized trips for more than 300,000 customers on over 1,000 routes worldwide.
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