Localbird, the Israeli travel-tech company building a hybrid AI-human concierge platform for short-term rentals, announced a $7.4 million Seed round. The round was led by IBEX Investors, with participation from State of Mind Ventures and leading angels, including Elad Kushnir, Tal Shoham and additional executives behind some of Israel’s most successful travel-tech and consumer companies.
Localbird will use the capital to expand across the U.S. and Latin America, accelerate product development and hire in Israel and globally.
Localbird provides property managers and hosts with a free platform to offer guests curated, bookable local services and experiences - from private chefs and massages to tours, transportation and unique activities. Each property gets a digital concierge trained on the property details, destination and guest preferences (language, interests, budget, schedule, seasonality). Localbird shares commissions with hosts on every booking, creating a new, scalable revenue stream while delivering a hotel-grade, five-star experience in any vacation rental.
“Hosts sit on a goldmine of local knowledge but haven’t had an easy, digital way to share and monetize it,” said Ben Levy, Co-Founder & CEO. “Localbird bridges that gap- upgrading the guest experience while opening a meaningful new income channel for every host.”
Guests interact with an AI-enabled concierge trained on local data and host-specific context. The AI recommends books, schedules, asks clarifying questions and handles routine changes.
When requests are complex - special accommodations, pricing exceptions or supplier approvals - the conversation seamlessly routes to a human concierge, who continues with full history and context. The system learns from every interaction, improving recommendations and SLA over time.
Short-term rentals host ~840 million travelers annually, and guest spending on local experiences exceeds $250B per year - a fragmented market still dominated by offline, manual bookings. Localbird is building the infrastructure layer that connects hosts, guests and vetted suppliers in real time, turning every stay into a channel for local commerce.
Founded in 2023 by brothers Ben Levy (CEO) and Or Levy (COO) - lone soldiers who immigrated to Israel to serve in the IDF - Localbird was inspired by a family trip to Hawaii, where a simple attempt to rent surfboards ended with a binder of outdated flyers.
Amid the war, after hundreds of reserve-duty days, the founders managed the company remotely, while teams in Israel and Latin America sustained operations. By focusing on cash-flow discipline, customer revenue and new income channels, Localbird achieved 4× year-over-year growth, expanded to new markets, hired globally, and completed the Seed round - all during reserve service.
“From day one it was clear Localbird isn’t another B2C travel app - it’s a new infrastructure layer that changes how travelers experience destinations and how hosts increase margins,” said Adi Dangot Zukovsky, Partner at IBEX Investors. “A host-led distribution model, trust as the core instead of advertising, and the ability to turn local experiences into a real growth engine make this a category-creating play. Ben, Or and the team showed remarkable perseverance and deep market understanding during a challenging period. We’re excited to help build this new category together.”
“What makes Localbird’s potential for success especially strong is its self-reinforcing business model. Once a booking is made on the platform, revenue flows directly to hosts, which increases their motivation to promote the service. As a result, supply expands and diversity grows, improving the fit to guests’ needs,” adds Omer Kalderon, Principal at State of Mind Ventures. “This is a highly efficient growth loop that creates a significant competitive advantage. Thanks to this model, combined with an excellent team, we are confident that Localbird has a clear path to success.”
Localbird currently operates in 45 destinations across the U.S. and Latin America, partnering with more than 2,500 property managers who, on average, earn several hundred dollars in additional monthly income through the platform. As of today, there are over 10,000 active properties and 1,000 vetted local suppliers integrated into the system.
The company employs approximately 30 people in Israel and Latin America, half of them in its Tel Aviv office. During 2026, Localbird plans to double its headcount across product, engineering, marketing, finance and sales.