Questo raises angel round to transform 100 cities into games
Posted on Feb 28, 2019 by Questo Team
Press release: Questo, a mobile city exploration game present in 40 European cities has secured a seed round of funding from 2 private angel investors. The money raises the valuation of the business at more than $1.5 million and will be used for fueling the expansion in some of the largest cities in the world: London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona and more.
Questo helps users to explore cities by solving clues in order to discover new places and stories about them. Each route (quest) they explore is based on a specific theme, which can be inspired by a movie, a book, a historical fact or just a legend. In London, for instance, users can explore the city as Sherlock Holmes or Isaac Newton, while in Paris they can play as Hemingway or Picasso.
“We aim to disrupt the +$120 billion market of tours and activities by offering travelers and locals a new fun way to explore a city through technology“, said Alex Govoreanu, CEO of Questo. “Our mobile app is at the crossroads of guided/walking tours and real-world games, such as Pokemon Go, and that makes it perfect for millennials and generation Zs, who are looking for fun, unique and authentic experiences“. Questo is also a previous winner of the Booking.com Booster Lab 2018 in Tel Aviv.
Last year, 35,000 people finished a quest while walking more than 100.000 kilometers to discover popular and hidden locations, as well as local stories. As of today, the app has over 100 available quests created by a growing network of local content creators. They can be purchased inside the Questo iOS and Android apps, on TripAdvisor and on GetYourGuide, for prices ranging from 8 to 20 Euro.
“Questo offers players the freedom to explore cities at their own pace and on their own terms. They can start and pause the game whenever they want to spend more time visiting an attraction they love, stop to eat at a local restaurant or just take a break. Also, our players appreciate the joy of exploring a city with a group of friends, instead of a having to join a group of 20–30 strangers during a classic guided tour“, Govoreanu added.
The company also works with brands such as Samsung or Bitdefender, tourism agencies and other companies to create custom quests that offer a unique travel experience for their customers and employees.
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