News
Feb 19, 2026
News
Startups
Artificial Intelligence
Asia
NewDecoded
4 min read
Image by SPUN
Jakarta-based travel technology startup SPUN has successfully secured $1.8 million in seed funding to dismantle the administrative barriers of international travel for Southeast Asian citizens. The investment round was led by Genesia Ventures with significant participation from Antler and several strategic venture partners. This capital injection is designated to scale the platform's reach and enhance its proprietary automation tools.
The company functions as an end-to-end digital ecosystem designed to replace the fragmented and often opaque workflows of traditional travel agencies. Users can navigate a unified dashboard to manage over 300 visa types for more than 90 countries, including high-demand regions like the United Kingdom and East Asia. By centralizing the application process, the platform reportedly maintains a 99 percent approval rate for its users. Artificial intelligence serves as the core infrastructure for the platform to minimize human error and accelerate processing times. The system uses advanced optical character recognition to extract data from physical documents through a smart upload feature. This automation allows for the instant pre-filling of complex application forms and the immediate verification of files against specific embassy requirements.
The platform specifically addresses the unique pain points of travelers holding passports that face high scrutiny during the vetting process. For the Indonesian market, it offers specialized assistance for applicants who may lack traditional banking history or specific financial documentation. These integrated services ensure that users can satisfy embassy criteria through a guided, digital-first experience.
Beyond direct consumer services, the company is positioning itself as the underlying infrastructure for major regional travel platforms. It has established strategic partnerships with industry giants to power their visa fulfillment sectors via API integrations. This approach allows the startup to scale its technology across the broader Southeast Asian travel market without the overhead of traditional service firms.
The fresh capital will be used to deepen AI capabilities and expand operations into neighboring markets such as the Philippines and Vietnam. The founding team intends to build a permanent mobility layer for the region by focusing on sustainable unit economics rather than heavy subsidies. This strategy is intended to make borderless movement a standard reality for millions of travelers.
The rise of this platform reflects a broader industry shift toward the automation of sovereign administrative tasks that were previously handled by inefficient manual agents. As global mobility remains a significant friction point for emerging economies, the integration of AI into visa workflows represents a move toward digital diplomacy infrastructure. This funding signals that investors see massive value in transforming bureaucratic hurdles into seamless and predictable software experiences.