OpenAI acquires AI travel agent Odessia in acqui-hire
OpenAI has acquired Odessia, an AI travel agent founded by Francis Davidson, in a deal described as an acqui-hire. Davidson is now working for OpenAI, which has not announced new travel-specific products but lists major travel platforms as partners.
OpenAI has acquired Odessia, an AI travel agent founded by Francis Davidson, in a transaction described as an acqui-hire. Davidson, who is now working for OpenAI, built Odessia by directing teams of AI agents. The one-year-old company raised a $6 million pre-seed round led by Sequoia and launched its travel agent five months prior to the acquisition. Davidson stated that the tool helped early adopters plan millions of dollars worth of travel before being shut down.
OpenAI confirmed the hire but has not announced new travel-specific products. The company lists Bookings.com, Expedia, and Kayak as customers or partners. OpenAI previously highlighted travel as a use case for its ChatGPT agent in July 2025, noting that it is a frequent topic for chatbot users. The acquisition underscores OpenAI's strategy of integrating specialized AI capabilities into its broader platform rather than developing standalone consumer applications for every vertical.