KORA is a chat-native AI travel companion designed specifically for foreign visitors to mainland China. It handles payments, connectivity, translation, and curated local recommendations in nine languages, acting as a personal concierge that remembers user preferences throughout their trip.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Foreign travelers in mainland China face significant barriers including payment systems that reject international cards, restricted access to global apps and websites, language barriers, and difficulty discovering local venues and experiences. These challenges make navigating daily life and finding authentic local recommendations overwhelming for visitors unfamiliar with China's digital ecosystem.
Solution
KORA provides a chat-native AI travel companion accessible via Telegram, web chat, and mobile apps that acts as a local friend rather than a front desk. The AI remembers each user's tastes, allergies, budget, and pace across the entire trip, eliminating the need to repeat preferences. It curates recommendations by filtering and ranking content from Chinese platforms like Rednote and Dianping—sources foreigners typically cannot read—and ranks results based on the user's home culture and personal preferences. KORA also enables in-chat booking for hotels, restaurants, and tickets without app-switching, and offers a physical Survival Kit with airport collection at Shanghai Pudong and Beijing Capital airports, where a real person sets up VPN, essential Chinese apps, and connectivity before departure.
Target Audience
Primary users are foreign tourists and business travelers visiting mainland China who need practical assistance with payments, connectivity, translation, and discovering local experiences, particularly those unfamiliar with Chinese digital services and language.
Features
- Chat-native AI concierge available through Telegram, web, Android, and iOS with support for nine languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish, Russian, Thai, and Vietnamese
- Persistent user memory that tracks tastes, allergies, budget, and pace across the entire trip for personalized recommendations
- Curated local picks ranked from Rednote and Dianping content using KORA's proprietary ranking system tailored to the user's home culture
- In-chat booking functionality for hotels, restaurants, and tickets without switching apps
- Physical Survival Kit with airport counter set-up at Shanghai Pudong and Beijing Capital, including VPN installation, essential Chinese app configuration, and human support for the SIM's validity period
- City-specific guides and maps for seven cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, and Quanzhou, with locally verified recommendations