This morning, TripActions, a software provider specializing in business travel booking and management solutions, revealed a new investment totaling $155 million.

The funding round was spearheaded by three investors: existing investor Andreessen Horowitz, Addition, and Elad Gil. According to a company representative via email, this Series E investment establishes TripActions’ post-money valuation at $5 billion.

While valuations are typically only moderately informative, this latest round for TripActions carries significant implications.

The company, alongside restaurant software leader Toast, notably exemplified the impact of COVID-19 on certain startup sectors. TechCrunch reported on the launch of a $500 million credit facility for TripActions’ Liquid product in late February 2020. Shortly after, in late March, TripActions implemented workforce reductions affecting hundreds of employees as the travel industry came to a standstill.

This represented a substantial shift in circumstances for a company that had previously secured $250 million in funding at a $4 billion valuation in mid-2019. (TripActions did secure an additional $125 million through what it termed “convertible-to-IPO financing” last June, during a period of particularly low travel demand.)

However, today investors are demonstrating confidence in the company’s prospects, not only providing a further nine-figure capital infusion but also assigning a higher valuation.

Achieving an up-round less than a year after workforce reductions signifies a remarkable turnaround, prompting TechCrunch to investigate the current state of the corporate travel market – TripActions’ core business – and the speed of recovery for business trips. With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, how rapidly are employees resuming air travel?

A company spokesperson indicated that the corporate travel market currently operates at “20 percent of previous levels” as of this month, with a growth rate of 3% to 6% “week-over-week.” This recovery trajectory likely instilled investor confidence in TripActions’ ability to regain a significant portion of its former strength in due course.

TechCrunch also inquired about TripActions’ vision for the corporate travel landscape in a hybrid-work environment increasingly enabled by tools like Zoom. A spokesperson stated that the company “firmly” believes corporate travel will rebound, “potentially not to 100 percent immediately,” but to 75% “within the next year.”

The spokesperson also suggested that a more geographically dispersed workforce could actually stimulate corporate travel. Should this prove accurate, TripActions could emerge from the pandemic in a more robust position than it might have otherwise achieved. For a unicorn that was compelled to reduce its workforce when its market temporarily collapsed, such a resurgence would be a significant achievement.

Regarding the new funding, TripActions plans to allocate the capital towards product development. The company highlighted recent feature releases in a communication to TechCrunch, including software integrations, and stated its continued focus on its finance-oriented Liquid product.

The spokesperson also mentioned that the company “will develop features to facilitate easier in-person meetings for distributed teams.” This strategy aligns with the growing expectation that companies will increasingly operate beyond traditional geographic constraints.

TechCrunch requested information on the number of previously laid-off employees who have been rehired and whether the new funds will be used for further re-hiring. We will update this article when we receive a response.

Regardless, TripActions’ journey from pre-pandemic success, through the challenges of COVID-19, to its current position with a new valuation and substantial funding, represents a compelling case study for future business analysis.