OpenAI acquires AI travel agent Odessia, hires founder Francis Davidson

AI · First reported 10 Nov, 21:08 · Updated 21:25

Image: Wikimedia Commons · NASA Johnson Space Center · Public domain

OpenAI has acquired the AI travel agent Odessia and hired founder Francis Davidson to work on travel. Odessia, less than a year old, raised $6M led by Sequoia and has been shut down. OpenAI has not announced travel-specific products, though travel is described as a common ChatGPT use.

OpenAI acquired Odessia, an AI travel agent founded by Sonder co-founder Francis Davidson, who announced November 10, 2026 that he joined OpenAI to focus on travel.
Deal terms were not disclosed; coverage characterized it as bringing a working booking operation and expertise rather than revenue, with Odessia's service now offline.
Odessia raised $6M in June led by Sequoia, had eight staff in San Francisco, opened publicly October 14, and offered text-based planning and booking of flights, hotels and itineraries.
The acquisition coincided with OpenAI's launch of Businesses in ChatGPT for selling through the chatbot, and Expedia, Booking Holdings and Airbnb shares declined on Tuesday.
Davidson previously co-founded Sonder in 2014; it went public in 2022 and later entered bankruptcy proceedings after losing a Marriott partnership.

Summary written by Sumzly from 4 articles

Key facts

Acquired company: Odessia, AI travel agent
Founder joining OpenAI: Francis Davidson
Pre-seed funding: $6 million led by Sequoia
Service status: Shut down / no longer available
Reported early use: Tens of thousands of users; more than $60m in annualised travel
Announcement date: November 10, 2026