OpenAI acquires AI travel agent Odessia; founder joins lab

OpenAI has acquired Odessia, an AI travel agent, and its founder, Francis Davidson, is now working with the AI lab to advance travel technology. While the terms of the acquisition were undisclosed, the move suggests an acqui-hire. Davidson, who built Odessia by directing teams of AI agents, noted that the year-old platform had assisted early users in planning millions of dollars in travel, though the tool has since been deactivated. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the hiring, stating they were excited to welcome Davidson, a founder with a history of building travel-focused businesses. Although OpenAI has not detailed new travel products, the company already lists major travel entities like Bookings.com, Expedia, and KAYAK as partners. This aligns with the broader trend, as travel is a frequent use case for personal AI assistants, a potential use case OpenAI highlighted when launching its ChatGPT agent in July 2025. Davidson is also recognized for founding Sonder in 2014, a short-term upscale apartment leasing service similar to Airbnb. After Sonder faced difficulties following the pandemic and a failed SPAC listing, it entered bankruptcy, with its assets sold to TravelAI in 2026. Prior to its decline, Davidson had scaled Sonder to a unicorn status with $143 million in revenues.