OpenAI Acquires Odessia, Bringing Founder Francis Davidson Onboard to Build the Future of Travel

OpenAI has acquired Odessia, an AI-powered travel startup founded by Francis Davidson, marking another development in the growing adoption of agentic AI across consumer-facing industries.

Davidson announced the acquisition on LinkedIn, confirming that he will join OpenAI to focus on the future of travel. The announcement follows less than a year of operations for Odessia, which was established with the ambition of building an advanced AI travel agent capable of planning and booking trips.

According to Davidson, Odessia facilitated more than $60 million in annual travel planning over the summer, serving tens of thousands of early adopters. The company demonstrated how AI agents could help consumers organise and book travel experiences through more automated, intelligent interactions.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

From Sonder to Building an AI-Native Travel Company

Odessia was founded by Francis Davidson, who previously co-founded Sonder and led its growth from its early stages to approximately $600 million in revenue.

Davidson described Odessia as a fundamentally different approach to building a technology company, with AI agents integrated throughout its operations rather than being treated as an additional productivity tool.

He said the company adopted an AI-first operating model from the beginning, using agents across software engineering, strategy, partnerships, design, marketing, customer support, legal and finance.

The approach enabled a leaner operating structure, with employees directing multiple AI agents to execute tasks, review outputs and improve results through continuous feedback.

Building a Company Around Agentic AI

Davidson outlined several operating principles that shaped Odessia's development and its approach to AI-native execution.

AI agents across business functions: Odessia deployed agents across nearly every operational area, extending their use beyond software development into business strategy, marketing, partnerships and customer support.

Connected enterprise context: The startup connected AI agents to internal information and business tools, including meeting recordings, email, Slack, documents and operational systems. This allowed agents to work with broader organisational context when completing tasks.

Voice-led instructions and reusable skills: Davidson highlighted the role of voice prompts in accelerating interactions with AI agents. Repeated corrections were converted into reusable skills that agents could apply to future tasks.

Continuous iteration with frontier models: The company relied on advanced AI models and iterative feedback to improve output quality, reducing the time required to complete complex knowledge-based work.

Managing teams of agents: Rather than relying entirely on traditional task management and sequential workflows, employees increasingly acted as managers of AI agents, assigning responsibilities, reviewing completed work and directing further improvements.

Proactive automation: Odessia also used agents to perform recurring operational tasks, including analytics reporting, customer feedback reviews, software error investigations and financial reconciliation.

Davidson said his personal use of AI agents increased approximately 25 times during 2026, reflecting how deeply the technology became embedded in his daily work.

A New Chapter for AI-Powered Travel

The acquisition brings Odessia's technology and founder into OpenAI as the company continues exploring opportunities for AI agents across different industries.

For the travel sector, the development highlights the potential for AI systems to move beyond recommendations and search assistance towards more comprehensive travel planning and booking experiences.

Odessia's early traction suggests that consumers are increasingly willing to use AI agents to organise complex travel decisions, compare options and manage bookings.

Davidson said there would be more to share about the future direction of the work, while thanking his team, Sequoia, angel investors and travel industry partners who supported Odessia from its early stages.

As AI agents become more capable of handling multi-step tasks, the acquisition represents another step in the evolution of AI-powered consumer services, with travel emerging as an important area of opportunity.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research and technology company focused on developing AI systems and products that benefit people and organisations. Its work includes advanced AI models, conversational systems and tools designed to support productivity, creativity and problem-solving.

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About Odessia

Odessia is an AI-powered travel startup founded by Francis Davidson, formerly co-founder of Sonder. The company set out to build an AI travel agent capable of helping consumers plan and book trips. Before its acquisition by OpenAI, Odessia reported facilitating more than $60 million in annual travel planning through its platform.

Source: Francis Davidson's LinkedIn announcement.