Google Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the US-based search engine company, has taken part in the $1m round raised by traveller community Triptrotting, which helps backpackers hook up with like-minded people to go to sites like Machu Picchu in Peru (pictured).
Google Ventures was joined in the series A by venture firm WI Harper Group and angels including Mark Suster, Dave McClure, Bill Gross, Safa Rashtchy and Eric Chen. The deal takes the company to $1.3m raised to date.
Joe Kraus, partner at Google Ventures, said: "Social networking around specific interests and activities will become more important as people create interest graphs around like-minded people. Travel is one of the natural markets where users can connect with friends and locals to discover and customize destination travel. We are excited by the opportunity and passion the team brings to the travel market."
Triptrotting was founded in 2010 by University of Southern California graduates Aigerim Shorman and Shana Zheng, who describe themselves as "avid travellers" who went on a trip to Thailand together in 2007
Separately, Craig Walker, co-founder of Google Voice, is looking at returning to his VoIP roots, according to an update on Twitter, spotted by news provider TechCrunch.
Google Ventures last year invested $3m in an incubator set up by Walker and other former engineers.
Craig Walker founded Firespotter Labs after selling GrandCentral to Google (it became Google Voice) and becoming an entrepreneur-in-residence at Google Ventures in September. Walker has teamed with ex-Googlers Brian Peterson and John Rector as well as Alex Cornell but said in his blog that Firespotter would develop its team’s ideas rather than third parties’.
He said: "We’re already working on too many ideas to effectively develop today (more engineers please!). As such, we’re not an incubator in the sense that we would develop, fund or build other people’s ideas or projects."
Wesley Chan, a partner at Google Ventures, has joined Firespotter’s board.