Francis Davidson, the founder of the travel startup Odessia, has confirmed that OpenAI has acquired his company. Davidson posted the news on social media, stating he is now working at the AI lab to develop future travel tools.
Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed. The announcement focused on Davidson’s approach to building Odessia, which he described as a system directed by teams of AI agents. The year-old venture raised a $6 million pre-seed round led by Sequoia and launched its agent roughly five months ago. Davidson noted the tool helped early users plan millions of dollars worth of travel, though the service is now offline.
OpenAI did not issue a press release confirming the move. When asked by TechCrunch, the company declined to comment. It has also not announced new travel-specific products or plans. The firm does, however, list companies such as Bookings.com, Expedia, and KAYAK among its customers or partners.
Travel remains a primary use case for personal AI assistants. Back in July 2025, when OpenAI launched its ChatGPT agent, the company highlighted travel as a potential application.
The acquisition carries additional weight because Davidson founded a previous travel startup called Sonder as a college student in 2014. The business operated somewhat like Airbnb, focusing on leasing upscale apartments in major cities worldwide. The pandemic damaged the company significantly. As it recovered, it went public via a SPAC but failed to raise the capital required. Davidson later announced his resignation as CEO in June 2025.
When a key partnership with Marriott collapsed, Sonder entered bankruptcy and ceased operations. The bankruptcy trustee sold Sonder’s name, trademarks, and website domain in 2026 to TravelAI. That site now operates as a curated guide to the rental properties Sonder once offered. Prior to its failure, Davidson had built Sonder into a unicorn with $143 million in revenues. While the company did not ultimately succeed, Davidson is the kind of experienced founder that Silicon Valley often values.
Observers must wait to see what OpenAI plans with Davidson’s arrival. The company has not yet responded to a request for comment.
