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- Yanolja
Yanolja Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Yanolja is valued at $9B as of July 2021. Yanolja revenue was $163M, as disclosed with its June 2019 round.
Last Yanolja valuation
$9B
Undisclosed stage · Jul 2021
Last Yanolja funding round
$1.7B
Undisclosed stage · Jul 2021
Yanolja revenue
$163M
Series D · Jun 2019
Key investors in Yanolja
Partners Investment
SBI Investment KOREA
SoftBank Group
GIC
AJU IB Investment Co
SL Investment
About Yanolja
Yanolja is a Seoul-based travel technology group that runs South Korea's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform and a global hospitality software business. Its consumer arm, NOL Universe, combines the Yanolja platform with InterparkTriple, the travel and ticketing business that came with its 2022 acquisition of Interpark, while its enterprise solutions business, Yanolja Cloud, sells property-management, distribution and other software to hotels and travel companies. Those solutions served more than 1.3 million travel businesses and 21,000 sales channels in 2024. That year the group recorded consolidated operating revenue of KRW 924.5bn, up 22%, and total transaction volume of KRW 27.0tn. Yanolja earns commissions and advertising fees on bookings and licence and subscription fees on its software. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 invested USD 1.7bn in 2021, after earlier rounds from GIC, Booking Holdings, SkyLake Investment and Korean venture firms. The company was founded in 2005 by Lee Su-jin, who had built an online community for the motel industry that grew into Yanolja.
Founded
2005
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C & B2B
Revenue model
Commission, Subscription
Revenue
$163M (Jun 2019)
Valuation
$9B (Jul 2021)
Sectors
Yanolja Valuation
Yanolja is currently valued at $9B, based on its undisclosed-stage round in July 2021. Read the announcement ↗
The $1.7B round was led by SoftBank Group.
Yanolja's valuation has grown 9.0x from $1B at its Series D in June 2019 to $9B in July 2021, across 2 priced rounds.
Yanolja valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2021 | Undisclosed stage | $9B | - |
| Jun 2019 | Series D | $1B | 6.1x |
Yanolja Revenue
Yanolja's latest recorded revenue is $163M, as of its Series D in June 2019. At a $1B valuation, that implies a 6.1x revenue multiple.
Yanolja revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2019 | $163M | $1B | 6.1x | Series D |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Yanolja Funding History
Yanolja has raised a total of $2B across 7 funding rounds.
Yanolja's first fundraising round was a $9M Series A in July 2015. The most recent completed round was a $1.7B undisclosed-stage round in July 2021.
Yanolja funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2021 | Undisclosed stage | SoftBank Group (lead) | $1.7B | $9B | SoftBank Vision Fund 2 invested USD 1.7bn in Yanolja in July 2021 as the sole investor in the round. Korean reporting put the SoftBank commitment at about KRW 2tn at a valuation of around KRW 10tn, and said the fund also bought part of the stake held by SkyLake Investment, an earlier backer. Yanolja said it would use the capital to develop artificial intelligence and big-data technology, expand its hospitality software into new markets and build its global travel platform in an industry it sized at USD 3tn. The investment followed the USD 180m Series D led by GIC and Booking Holdings in 2019, which had first valued the company above USD 1bn. Yanolja was founded in 2005 and is based in Seoul. It began as an online community for the Korean motel industry and grew into South Korea's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform, later acquiring Interpark and combining its consumer channels as NOL Universe. In 2024 it reported consolidated operating revenue of KRW 924.5bn. |
| Jun 2019 | Series D | Booking Holdings (lead); GIC (lead); KT | $180M | $1B | Yanolja, South Korea's largest online travel platform, raised $180 million in a Series D funding round on June 10-11, 2019, led by GIC (Singapore sovereign wealth fund) and Booking Holdings (owner of Booking.com and Agoda). The investment valued the company at over $1 billion, marking it as a unicorn, following a prior valuation over $500 million in 2017 and total prior funding of around $60 million. The round included a strategic partnership with Booking Holdings, enabling Agoda to offer Yanolja's accommodations in Korea and vice versa globally. Originally founded in 2005 as an advertising platform for love hotels by former hotel worker Lee Su-jin, Yanolja reinvented short-term rentals for young people and travelers, expanding to over 200 hotels in Korea and overseas through a $15 million investment in Southeast Asia's Zen Rooms. It developed a leading cloud-based property management system, AI/IoT smart hotels (e.g., with KT in Jeju), and surpassed $100 million in monthly transactions with 20 million accumulated reservations. The company reported revenue of 188.5 billion KRW ($160 million) in 2018, nearly double the prior year, with annual growth over 70% for the past five years, though not yet profitable. Funds were earmarked for hospitality tech innovation, hotel operation automation, global expansion in travel and leisure, and digitalization. Subsequent developments included a 2021 $1.75 billion SoftBank Vision Fund 2 investment, boosting valuation potentially over 10 trillion KRW. |
| May 2018 | Series C | Hanwha Asset Management; SBI Investment KOREA | $37M | - | Yanolja completed its Series C in May 2018 with KRW 40bn of new money, KRW 30bn from Hanwha Asset Management and KRW 10bn from SBI Investment. The investment followed KRW 60bn from SkyLake Investment in June 2017 and KRW 20bn from AJU IB Investment in December 2017, taking the Series C to KRW 120bn raised over ten months and the company's cumulative funding to KRW 151bn. Korean reporting noted that the round was secured from an asset manager, a type of investor generally cautious about startups. No valuation was disclosed. Yanolja said it would use the money for its global business and for acquisitions of and investments in domestic and overseas companies that fit its platform. Yanolja was founded in 2005 and is based in Seoul. It began as an online community for the Korean motel industry and grew into the country's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform, later adding a hotel property-management software business. The company went on to raise a USD 180m Series D from GIC and Booking Holdings in 2019. |
| Jun 2017 | Series C | Sky Lake Investment (lead); AJU IB Investment Co | $71M | - | Yanolja raised KRW 60bn from SkyLake Investment in June 2017, the opening tranche of a Series C that the company completed over the following ten months. SkyLake, the private equity firm led by former information and communication minister Chin Dae-je, invested on its own in redeemable convertible preferred shares, and AJU IB Investment added KRW 20bn in December 2017, bringing this part of the round to KRW 80bn. Korean press reported that the SkyLake investment valued Yanolja at about KRW 600bn, although the company did not publish a valuation. The capital was earmarked for the global expansion of the booking platform and for acquisitions of businesses that could complement it. Hanwha Asset Management and SBI Investment added a further KRW 40bn in May 2018, taking the Series C to KRW 120bn and cumulative funding to KRW 151bn. Yanolja was founded in 2005 and is based in Seoul. It started as an online community and information site for Korean motels and grew into the country's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform, with a hotel software business alongside it. |
| Oct 2016 | Series B | SBI Investment KOREA (lead) | $5M | - | SBI Investment put KRW 6bn into Yanolja's Series B in 2016, joining Partners Investment and SL Investment in a round that Korean reporting totals at KRW 21bn. The Japanese-backed Korean venture firm returned in 2017 with a further KRW 10bn in the Series C, taking its total investment in the company to about KRW 16bn. No valuation was published for either tranche. Yanolja was founded in 2005 and is based in Seoul. It began as an information site for Korean love hotels and grew into the country's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform, later adding a global hospitality software business. The Series B capital funded the shift from a listings and advertising model to transactions, as the company built out direct booking for motels, hotels and pensions. Yanolja's cumulative funding through the Series C reached about KRW 151bn, before the USD 180m round led by GIC and Booking Holdings in 2019 made it a unicorn. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 then invested USD 1.7bn in July 2021. |
| Apr 2016 | Series B | Partners Investment; SL Investment | $13M | - | Yanolja announced a Series B of KRW 15bn on 6 April 2016, taken up by SL Investment and its existing backer Partners Investment. Korean reporting later described the full Series B as KRW 21bn once SBI Investment's tranche of KRW 6bn is included, with Partners Investment putting in KRW 10bn and SL Investment KRW 5bn. No valuation was disclosed. The proceeds were directed at expanding the booking platform beyond motels into hotels, guest houses and pensions, and at building out the company's direct operations. Yanolja was founded in 2005 and is based in Seoul. It began as an information site for Korean love hotels and grew into the country's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform, later adding a global hospitality software business. The round followed the KRW 10bn Series A that Partners Investment had provided on its own in July of the previous year. Yanolja went on to raise a Series C from Sky Lake Investment, Aju IB, Hanwha Asset Management and SBI Investment between 2017 and 2018. |
| Jul 2015 | Series A | Partners Investment (lead) | $9M | - | Yanolja raised KRW 10bn from Partners Investment in July 2015 in its first external financing, with the venture firm taking the whole round on its own. The money was the largest single venture investment in a Korean accommodation business at the time and was intended to fund the company's move from an information and advertising site into direct booking. No valuation was published. Yanolja was founded in 2005 and is based in Seoul. It began as an information site for Korean love hotels and grew into the country's largest accommodation and leisure booking platform, later adding a global hospitality software business. At the time of the round the service covered motels and small hotels and was building the membership base that later reached several million users. Partners Investment followed on in the Series B the next year, and the company went on to raise from SL Investment, SBI Investment, Sky Lake, Aju IB, Hanwha, GIC, Booking Holdings and finally SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Cumulative funding through the Series C reached about KRW 151bn. |
Who has invested in Yanolja?
10 investors have backed Yanolja across its funding rounds, including Partners Investment, SBI Investment KOREA, SoftBank Group, GIC, AJU IB Investment Co and SL Investment.
Lead investors include SoftBank Group, Booking Holdings, GIC, Sky Lake Investment, SBI Investment KOREA and 1 other investor.
Yanolja Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Lead | Jul 2015 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Oct 2016 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2017 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jul 2021 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jun 2019 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jun 2019 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Jun 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2019 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Yanolja
Yanolja has acquired 16 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Yanolja was on May 15th 2023. Yanolja acquired Go Global Travel for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Yanolja
| Description | - | - | Dodo Point is a Japanese loyalty solutions provider offering point membership systems, strategy consulting, sales support, and production services. Tokyo-based, it powers accumulation programs for retailers and brands across e-commerce and physical stores. | Dable is a Seoul-headquartered content discovery platform established in 2015, partnering with over 3,000 premium Asian media outlets reaching 5 billion monthly pageviews. It leads personalized recommendations in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Korea, with rapid growth in Taiwan and Malaysia, ranking first in media among Financial Times' top 500 Asia-Pacific high-growth companies. | |
| HQ Country | |||||
| HQ City | Tel Aviv | - | Seoul | Seoul | |
| Deal Date | 15 May 2023 | 6 Apr 2023 | 27 Jan 2022 | 23 Nov 2021 | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | $8M | undisclosed | $84M | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Yanolja acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |||||
Investments by Yanolja
Yanolja has invested in 9 companies to date.
Latest investment by Yanolja was on April 15th 2024. Yanolja invested in bizplay in their $2M Strategic investment round.
Latest Investments by Yanolja
| Description | bizplay is a Seoul-based mobile payment solution that enables merchants to accept credit card transactions via smartphones. Launched for small businesses in South Korea, the app supports contactless payments, QR codes, and PIN verification without dedicated hardware. It processes transactions securely through partnerships with major card networks. | Redrob is a software development firm providing custom engineering and outsourcing services. Specializing in web and mobile applications, it serves clients in Europe and North America with agile teams delivering full-stack solutions in JavaScript, Python, and cloud architectures. | KAFLIX is a provider of mobility services including car rentals and travel products, operating fleets in multiple countries. | Nodit is a multi-chain Web3 infrastructure platform providing node hosting and indexed data for Ethereum, Arbitrum, Aptos, and others. Offering 99.9% uptime via Seoul-based Lambda256, it supports GraphQL queries for developers. The service covers Luniverse cloud blockchain alongside travel rule compliance solutions. | |
| HQ Country | |||||
| HQ City | Seoul | Seoul | Jeju | Seoul | |
| Deal Date | 15 Apr 2024 | 19 Dec 2023 | 22 Mar 2022 | 15 Dec 2021 | |
| Round | Strategic investment | Seed | Series B | Series B | |
| Raised | $2M | $4M | $26M | $59M | |
| Investors | - | Murex Partners; MUSINSA; DS&Partners; Market Kurly | - | Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp.; KB Investment; Daelim Corporation; Hanwha Systems; Dunamu; DSC Investment; VTI Partners; Woori Technology Investment; SBI Investment KOREA; Shinhan Venture Investment | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | $134M | undisclosed | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Yanolja investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | |||||
Yanolja Competitors
Yanolja competitors include listed companies like Travel+Leisure, MakeMyTrip, Tongcheng Travel and Tripadvisor, and private ones like Engine and Fora.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $4B | $684M | $4.3B | 2.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1B | $171M | $4B | 4.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $2.9B | $664M | $3B | 0.6x | ||
| Private | - | - | $2.1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.9B | $160M | $1.1B | 0.7x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - |
Yanolja Public Comps
Yanolja is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Travel+Leisure, MakeMyTrip, TUI, Jet2, Tongcheng Travel, HBX Group, Jungfraubahn Holding, TBO.com, Trip.com and Amadeus.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $4B | $684M | 2.5x | 2.4x | 14.7x | 9.5x | |||
| $1B | $171M | 4.5x | 4.1x | 27.4x | 23.5x | |||
| $27B | $2.5B | 0.2x | 0.2x | 2.0x | 2.1x | |||
| $10B | $1B | 0.1x | 0.1x | 0.7x | 0.8x | |||
| $2.9B | $664M | 0.6x | 0.6x | 2.7x | 2.3x | |||
| $870M | $211M | 3.2x | 3.5x | 13.3x | 6.1x | |||
| $330M | $168M | 5.3x | 4.9x | 10.5x | 11.2x | |||
| $264M | $41M | 6.2x | 4.7x | 40.2x | 30.1x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Yanolja competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Yanolja
| When was Yanolja founded? | Yanolja was founded in 2005. |
| Where is Yanolja headquartered? | Yanolja is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. |
| Is Yanolja publicly listed? | No, Yanolja is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Yanolja's valuation? | Yanolja was last valued at $9B in its undisclosed-stage round in July 2021. |
| How much funding has Yanolja raised? | Yanolja has raised $2B across 7 funding rounds. |
| What was Yanolja's last funding round? | Yanolja's last funding round was a $1.7B undisclosed-stage round in July 2021, led by SoftBank Group. |
| Who are Yanolja's investors? | Yanolja's investors include Partners Investment, SBI Investment KOREA, AJU IB Investment Co, SoftBank Group, GIC, Booking Holdings, Sky Lake Investment, KT, Hanwha Asset Management and SL Investment. |
| What is Yanolja's revenue? | Yanolja's latest recorded revenue is $163M (June 2019). |
| What is Yanolja's revenue multiple? | Yanolja's latest valuation implies a 6.1x revenue multiple ($1B valuation on $163M of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to Yanolja? | Companies comparable to Yanolja include Travel+Leisure, MakeMyTrip, Tongcheng Travel, Engine, Tripadvisor and Fora. |
| How many companies has Yanolja acquired? | Yanolja has acquired 16 companies, including Go Global Travel, Innsoft, Dodo Point, Dable and Global Interpark. |
| What was the largest acquisition by Yanolja? | The $357M acquisition of Global Interpark in October 2021 is the largest acquisition Yanolja has made to date. |
| How many companies has Yanolja invested in? | Yanolja has invested in 9 companies, including bizplay, Redrob, KAFLIX, Nodit, Korea Exchange Systems, Triple, ONE DO and ZEN Rooms. |
| What was Yanolja's last investment? | In April 2024, Yanolja invested in bizplay's $2M strategic investment round. |
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