Vuelo, an FCA-regulated London-based travel FinTech, has raised £56m in seed funding to expand its AI-native travel booking and financing platform.
The round comprises £6m in equity funding led by Backed VC and Play Ventures, with £50m in debt financing provided by Viola Credit. The capital will be used to accelerate Vuelo’s development into a fully integrated platform capable of planning, booking, financing, and supporting customers throughout their travel journey — a first of its kind in the UK market.
Vuelo’s platform replaces the traditional search bar with a proprietary AI engine designed to understand travel context at an individual level. Every trip recommendation is presented with an embedded, personalised payment plan generated before the customer views any travel options, displaying costs in terms such as “Barcelona, 5 nights, £74 per month over 6 months.”
Where an initial offer is not suitable, the company’s Adaptive Offers Engine recalibrates repayment terms, deposits, or instalment structures to find a workable arrangement, allowing Vuelo to approve a higher share of applicants than conventional alternative payment providers. The company received FCA authorisation in 2025 and is already onboarding thousands of new travellers each month.
AI is also embedded across Vuelo’s back-end operations, handling customer support, managing refunds, and helping customers manage their finances, with the system growing more precise with each customer interaction.
Vuelo founder and CEO Jasper Dykes said, “General purpose BNPL operators have brought greater flexibility to everyday spending, particularly in online retail and lower-ticket purchases. Yet travel, one of the world’s most meaningful and aspirational categories, has remained underserved by solutions that reflect how people actually plan and pay for their trips.
“Vuelo is different because we’re not bolting credit onto a booking engine or AI onto a payments product. We’re building a single platform which offers discovery, booking, financing, and in-trip support. Our AI understands the traveller, the trip, and the risk profile simultaneously – which is what allows us to approve customers that traditional BNPL’s decline.
“With this funding round, we’re accelerating our vision: Vuelo becomes the AI companion that makes travel possible – not just more convenient, but genuinely possible – for the people who’ve always wanted to go but never quite made it work financially. We’re delighted to be joined by world-class investors in Backed VC, Play Ventures, and Viola Credit, whose support reflects the scale of the opportunity ahead.”
Backed VC’s Andre de Haes said, “Vuelo is a genuine travel disruptor with a unique proposition. The company has already shown strong traction, onboarding thousands of new travellers each month, and we’re excited to be backing Vuelo as it targets significant growth in 2026. Big data and AI are disrupting numerous industries and, with a sophisticated ability to risk-assess and underwrite, Vuelo promises significant innovation in the travel sector. We look forward to working with Jasper and the team as we target further growth and funding.”
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