Travel fintech unicorn Hopper raises $175M

Many travel tech companies in the Bay State made layoffs in the past year and had to rethink their offerings after the pandemic disrupted the travel industry. Needham-based Tripadvisor Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), which in 2020 cut hundreds of workers citing the industry’s "darkest of days," launched a subscription product. Boston startup Lola.com, which laid off nearly one-third of its workforce, expanded its software to track not only business travel expenses but all business expenses in real time. At Hopper, which last year made layoffs as well, new financial products have been in the works since 2019, CEO Frederic Lalonde said.