With its latest funding round, the five-year-old startup reaches Unicorn status, bringing an AI-powered platform to a new generation of entrepreneurial travel advisors.
Fora has raised $60 million in Series D funding, reaching a $1 billion post-money valuation as the New York-based company expands its technology platform for independent travel advisors and entrepreneurs.
The funding round was led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, with continued participation from existing investors Thrive Capital, Insight Partners and Heartcore Capital. New investors included PLUS Capital, Amy Schumer and other members of the firm’s artist and athlete collective, BlackPines Capital Partners and Tribeca Venture Partners.
The latest investment brings Fora’s total funding to $138.5 million and follows a period of rapid growth for the company. Since launching in 2021, Fora’s network of travel advisors has generated more than $3 billion in travel bookings for clients across more than 180 countries.
Fora plans to use the new capital to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities, enter additional markets, grow its cruise and flight offerings, pursue enterprise opportunities and hire more employees.
Fora Travel Bookings Surpass $3 Billion
Fora’s accelerating booking volume highlights the growth of its advisor network and technology-enabled business model.
It took the company approximately three years to reach its first $1 billion in lifetime travel bookings. Fora reached its second billion in eight months and added another $1 billion in only five months.
The company now supports more than 15,000 active travel advisors. According to Fora, 97% of those advisors were new to the travel advisory profession when they joined the platform.
The advisor community includes former physicians, lawyers, financial traders, full-time parents and retirees. Some use Fora to generate supplemental income, while others have built businesses producing more than $10 million in annual travel bookings.
Fora describes these advisors as part of a new category of travel entrepreneurs who use the company’s technology, training, supplier relationships and community resources to operate their own businesses.
“Fora’s mission has always been to give advisors the infrastructure they need to build real businesses,” said Fora co-founder Evan Frank.
Frank said the growing use of AI could increase the value of travel advisors by allowing them to spend more time applying human judgment, building client relationships and creating highly personalized travel experiences.
Fora Expands Via AI Assistant for Travel Advisors
A major focus of Fora’s Series D funding will be the development and expansion of Via, the company’s embedded AI assistant.
Via is currently being tested by a group of Fora’s leading advisors. The technology is designed to operate across the company’s platform and assist with administrative and research-intensive tasks.
The AI assistant can help advisors conduct destination research, access information about travel suppliers, develop client itineraries and generate trip proposals. By reducing the time required for these activities, Fora expects advisors to manage more clients and grow their businesses without sacrificing personalized service.
Fora’s approach reflects a broader argument emerging across service-based industries: AI may be most valuable when it supports professionals rather than replaces them.
For travel advisors, automation can handle repetitive operational work, while people remain responsible for understanding client preferences, evaluating complex choices and responding when travel plans change.
“With AI increasingly handling the operational layer, we’re already seeing advisors building bigger, more meaningful businesses—faster,” Frank said.
Brian O’Malley, founder and managing partner of Tactile Ventures, said Fora’s combination of automation and personal accountability distinguishes the platform from businesses focused exclusively on automated travel planning.
“Fora is bigger in AI travel because their offering combines automation when you want it with human accountability when you need it to provide a seamless traveler experience,” O’Malley said.
Travel Advisor Profession Attracts New Entrepreneurs
Fora’s growth comes as interest in the travel advisor profession continues to increase. LinkedIn ranked travel advisor as the fifth-fastest-growing job in the United States in 2025, according to the company.
The traditional travel agency model is a thing of the past. Technology platforms now allow advisors to launch independent businesses while receiving access to booking systems, training, commissions, preferred supplier relationships and professional support.
Fora’s model accommodates advisors operating at different levels. A person can begin by booking occasional trips for friends and family, while more experienced advisors can build full-time businesses serving high-value individual or corporate clients.
The company’s AI strategy could make that model more scalable. By making research, itinerary development and proposal creation faster, Via may allow advisors to focus more heavily on customer acquisition, relationship management and specialized travel expertise.
Fora Plans Further Market Expansion
Fora will use its latest funding to expand beyond its current services and strengthen its position in major travel categories.
The company plans to increase its presence in cruise bookings, flights and enterprise travel while continuing to develop Via as an AI operating layer for advisors.
Fora will also invest in new markets and hiring as it works to support a growing global network of travel entrepreneurs.
With a $1 billion valuation, more than $3 billion in travel bookings and $138.5 million in total funding, Fora is positioning itself at the intersection of entrepreneurship, travel and artificial intelligence.
Rather than using AI to eliminate the travel advisor, Fora is betting that better technology will help a new generation of advisors build larger businesses while delivering the personal service travelers continue to value.
