Triptrotting, an international community connecting travelers with like-minded locals for meet ups and authentic experiences, announced today, that it has raised funding from Google Ventures, Mark Suster (LaunchpadLA), Dave McClure (500 Startups), Bill Gross (Idealab) WI Harper Group, Safa Rashtchy, Eric Chen and other angel investors bringing its total funding to $1.3 million to date.

Triptrotting is an innovative company that understands traveling is about the experiences and people you meet while away from home, and not just about destinations. Bringing together like-minded individuals from all over the world, Triptrotting connects travelers looking to discover their own travel experiences beyond the tourist path with locals. In the few short months since the site's beta launch, the community has rapidly expanded to over 2,000 cities worldwide. This is largely due to the group of local ambassadors who host events in cities with thousands of attendees, driving more users to the site and attracting local partners.

"Triptrotting brings something completely different to the table for travelers and locals alike. We provide an opportunity to have a truly authentic experience no matter where you go, and meet other people who want to do the same," said Aigerim Shorman, Triptrotting co-founder.

"This 'choose your own engagement' model is the engine powering our rapid growth and user loyalty. Triptrotting mitigates the 'touristy' travel experience while providing an opportunity for locals to expand their global footprint - all without ever leaving the city," adds Shana Zheng, Shorman's founding partner and Triptrotting co-founder.

"Social networking around specific interests and activities will become more important as people create interest graphs around like-minded people," said Joe Kraus, partner at Google Ventures. "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."

"The founders of Triptrotting, Aigerim and Shana, perfectly embody the power of what Triptrotting is all about - global citizens connected to share common experiences in faraway lands or right around the corner with like-minded people," said Mark Suster of GRP Partners and founder of Launchpad LA. "I couldn't be happier working with these super ambitious founders."

With the help and expertise from the former chief scientist at eHarmony, Galen Buckwalter, Triptrotting's community includes functionality that helps match travelers and local hosts based on compatibility, measuring dimensions ranging from personality to professional interests. The compatibility matching technology allows first-time users of Triptrotting to establish immediate chemistry with like-minded travelers and locals. It enables travelers to fast-forward to the fun part of travel - exploration and engagement.

ABOUT TRIPTROTTING

Triptrotting was founded in 2010 by avid travelers and University of Southern California graduates Aigerim Shorman and Shana Zheng. Inspired by their shared belief that traveling is about the experience and the people you meet, the Triptrotting engine and community was created. Immediately, like-minded travelers around the world discovered the site in their pursuit of travel experiences beyond the tourist path. In a few short months, the Triptrotting community has rapidly expanded to over 2,000 cities worldwide, engaged both on- and off-line. The company recently relocated to Santa Monica, California, to join Mark Suster's Launchpad LA and announced a round of funding from investors including Google Ventures, 500 Startups, Idealab, Safa Rashtchy and other angel investors. Begin your adventure at triptrotting.com.

ABOUT GOOGLE VENTURES

Google Ventures is the venture capital arm of Google Inc. We seek to discover and help develop great companies, and believe in the power of entrepreneurs to do amazing things. Our investments range from seed to late stage, across a broad range of industries, including consumer Internet, digital media, software, hardware, and biotechnology. We embrace the challenge of helping young companies grow from the proverbial garage to global relevance.