The group-travel platform WeRoad has just made its first move to expand into the US. WeRoad operates group adventure tours for travelers aged 25 to 49, with hubs servicing departures from Italy, Spain, the UK, France, Germany, and the United States. Through their international website, they service English-speaking travelers from across the globe.
WeRoad has secured a $58 million Series C funding round led by Airbnb as it initiates its first major growth phase outside of Europe. This capital injection brings the travel company’s total funding to approximately $100 million, which will finance its upcoming market launch into the US, starting in Austin, Texas.
Founded in Milan in 2017 by Paolo De Nadai, Fabio Bin, and Erika De Santi, WeRoad is a travel platform designed to pair solo travelers with people similar to them in age and travel preferences. Users are assigned a travel group of people their age, then they choose a trip based on their travel preferences. Then, the Group Leader handles the plans, letting users enjoy their journey and form connections with their travel companions.
According to WeRoad, “Our job is all about people: it’s about relationships and interactions, and not just during trips. Every day we experience firsthand the impact of what we do: we live to create connections between people.”
WeRoad’s financial success offers a glimpse into what the future of travel and travel platforms might look like. The next generation of travelers may turn less to booking platforms and instead finding connection in group traveling. Especially with the current “loneliness epidemic” of Gen Z, younger travelers might be more inclined to turn to group traveling rather than older generations.
Paolo De Nadai talks about his reasons for founding WeRoad with TechCrunch. “It started from a very personal need. When you finish college and start working, it becomes harder to find people to travel with. Friends were settling down, having kids, moving away, or simply couldn’t align schedules anymore. My co-founder Fabio and I both tried companies offering similar group travel experiences for solo travelers, but while the trips were good, something was missing. The guides were professional local experts, and the groups were mixed in age, and people didn’t really see eye to eye. People were traveling together, but not really connecting.”
Instead of a traditional tour, WeRoad redesigns group travel as an opportunity for real connection among Millennial and Gen Z solo travelers. Customers use the WeRoad Platform to book travel by “travel style” and theme, such as cultural immersion, skiing, or beach escapes. Nadai explains their core philosophy, saying that, “We asked ourselves, ‘What if we created trips for Millennials and Gen Z travelers, bringing together people from the same age groups with shared cultural references but completely different backgrounds, and focused on creating real bonds between them?’”
A few weeks before departure, the assigned Group Leader adds the 8 to 15 travelers to a WhatsApp group, allowing members to mingle, share excitement, and coordinate logistics before arriving at the destination. Understanding that travelers’ biggest fear isn’t usually the destination, but instead whether travelers will mesh well with the group, WeRoad designs itineraries around social dynamics. They intentionally schedule the more collaborative and adventurous activities at the start of the trip to help quickly break the ice. In addition, trips are led by Group Leaders close to the travelers’ ages who act more as travel companions, less like typical professional guides.
“We’re not looking for destination experts, but for people with travel experience and strong soft skills. Can they lead a group, handle tension, adapt when plans change, and help strangers connect?” De Nadai said.
WeRoad is expanding beyond global travel by rolling out WeMeet, a dedicated app for in-person local gatherings like dinners, hikes, and board game nights. Following a successful 2025 rollout that generated 150,000 downloads and drew over 50,000 attendees across 35 cities, this community platform is now spearheading the company’s localized U.S. expansion strategy. “We’ll be launching WeMeet events across multiple U.S. cities throughout 2026, starting with Austin because of its incredible energy and vibrant community scene,” De Nadai said.
WeRoad is targeting Austin first and will focus on recruiting local group leaders and building community partnerships before rolling out to other US cities throughout 2026. This hyper-local approach capitalizes on the booming demand for real-world social connection, which it what ultimately caused the startup to generate €130 million in revenue for 2025—a 30% year-over-year increase—and pushes its total customer count past 300,000 travelers since launching in 2017.
Many analysts still remain divided on whether corporations can build sustainable, long-term business models around the modern loneliness epidemic. But as more and more companies like WeRoad are slowly finding economic success, more and more investors are increasingly betting that the demand for these kinds of platforms is real.
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