OpenAI acquires Sonder co-founder’s new travel tech company Odessia

One of the co-founders behind Montréal-founded, San Francisco-based alternative lodging company Sonder has sold his new travel tech startup to OpenAI less than a year after starting it. The news: Odessia founder and CEO Francis Davidson announced that the San Francisco-based AI giant acquired his AI travel agent company in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. The purchase price was not disclosed. When reached for comment, Odessia referred BetaKit to Davidson’s post. OpenAI has not announced the acquisition itself, nor responded to a request for comment. Davidson positioned Odessia as an AI tool to create a bookable travel itinerary adhering to a user’s preferences within minutes. Odessia’s website now only notes that it has been acquired, and that its service is no longer available as part of the transition. The majority of Odessia employees on LinkedIn are based in Québec and also worked at Sonder. While it’s unclear if the employees will join OpenAI as part of the deal, Davidson said he will be joining the team to focus on the future of travel. From the source: “I founded Odessia less than a year ago with the goal to ship the best AI travel agent in the market, and I believe we achieved that,” Davidson wrote on LinkedIn, claiming $60 million per year worth of travel was planned using Odessia this past summer by tens of thousands of users. The context: Davidson left Sonder as CEO in June 2025 after overseeing its integration deal with hotel giant Marriott International in a last-ditch effort to become profitable following multiple challenges. At the time, Davidson said orchestrating the integration was “the hardest thing” he’d ever done and that he was leaving Sonder to reflect and explore new ideas. The Marriott deal ultimately didn’t work out for Sonder, and it folded in late 2025. Davidson went on to found Odessia, raise a $6-million round led by Sequoia, and now exit to an AI giant within a calendar year. Final thought: That quick turnaround may be a product of the AI-native way Odessia was built. Davidson explained in his post that his personal usage of AI agents skyrocketed through 2026 as agents worked around the clock to create Odessia. Davidson claimed he was able to complete tasks that would normally take 40 hours within two.  Feature image courtesy ishmael daro via Flickr. Image license under CC BY 2.0.The post OpenAI acquires Sonder co-founder’s new travel tech company Odessia first appeared on BetaKit.