OpenAI acquired Odessia, an AI-powered travel planning startup founded by Francis Davidson less than a year before the deal, adding a consumer application to its expanding portfolio of agent-focused products. Davidson said he would join OpenAI to work on the future of travel, while financial terms were not disclosed. Odessia’s AI travel agent had already been discontinued, although the startup relaunched publicly on October 14 after helping tens of thousands of early adopters plan more than $60 million in annualized travel during the summer. The company operated as a licensed IATA travel agency, supporting direct bookings for flights, accommodations and experiences, along with price tracking and post-booking benefits. Davidson said Odessia used AI agents across strategy, partnerships, design, marketing, customer support, legal and finance, with some 40-hour tasks reduced to about two hours through frontier models and repeated agent feedback. The acquisition broadens OpenAI’s recent run of developer and infrastructure deals, including planned purchases of Pierre Computer Company, Astral, Promptfoo and Ona. OpenAI has not disclosed how Odessia’s technology will fit into its products, including whether it will be used in ChatGPT or for travel research and itinerary planning. Odessia raised $6 million in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital in mid-2026. Shares of major online travel companies fell after news of the deal, with Expedia Group down as much as 5%, Booking Holdings off as much as 3% and Airbnb declining as much as 3.5%.