OpenAI hires Sonder founder Francis Davidson by buying his AI travel agent startup, Odessia
Odessia was a year old, had raised $6 million from Sequoia and is already shut down. OpenAI hasn't announced travel products, but says trips are a common ChatGPT request.
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OpenAI has acquired Odessia, an AI travel agent startup, its founder Francis Davidson announced, Julie Bort reports for TechCrunch. Davidson now works at OpenAI on the future of travel. Terms weren't disclosed, and the deal looks like an acqui-hire.
What Odessia was
Odessia was about a year old. Sequoia led its $6 million pre-seed, and the travel agent went live about five months ago. Davidson says early users planned millions of dollars' worth of trips with it, but the product has already been shut down. His announcement spent most of its time on how he built Odessia by directing teams of AI agents.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the hire and called Davidson a proven founder who has built several travel businesses.
What OpenAI might do with travel
Nothing official yet. OpenAI hasn't announced travel products, though Booking.com, Expedia and KAYAK are customers or partners, and travel was one of the example uses when ChatGPT agent launched in July 2025. The spokesperson said ChatGPT now reaches 1.2 billion people a week and trip planning is one of the everyday things they ask about.
The founder
Davidson founded Sonder in 2014, while still in college. It rented upscale apartments short-term in big cities, a bit like Airbnb, and grew into a unicorn with $143 million in revenue. The pandemic hit it hard, its SPAC listing raised less money than it needed, and after a key Marriott partnership collapsed it went bankrupt and wound down. Davidson stepped down as CEO in June 2025.
Scoreboard update: Draw. OpenAI wants travel planned by agents, and buys a human founder to build it.
Stay undead.
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