Founded just two years ago: Danish experience platform raises millions for global expansion

The Aarhus-based startup Understory has raised nearly DKK 90 million in a Series A round to expand its international activities. The round was led by London-based Smedvig Ventures, with People Ventures and Sequel also joining as new investors. Existing investors Seed Capital and Firstminute Capital also followed up with additional investments.

Behind Understory are founders Lasse Kjær and Lars Rasmussen, who previously built the experience portal Truestory. With experience identifying challenges in the experience industry, Understory addresses fragmentation, administration, and lack of digitalization.

“We are incredibly proud. It’s an important milestone for all our work, what we’ve achieved so far, and the vision we pursue. The investment gives us the opportunity to take Understory to the next level. Our mission is to revolutionize the experience industry,” says Lasse Kjær, CEO and co-founder of Understory.

Understory goes international

Understory, previously named Holdbar, was founded in 2023 and has developed an AI-powered platform that brings together booking, payments, and marketing tailored for the experience industry. The platform aims to help providers with digital tools for bookings, freeing up resources and enabling growth in a $3 trillion global industry growing by around six percent annually.

“With the investment we can further develop our product and infrastructure, while also making Understory more international. As we move into new countries, even more experience providers will gain access to our tools, so they can attract more guests, open up new revenue streams, and focus on what matters most: giving guests experiences they won’t forget,” says Lasse Kjær.

The company is already reporting significant growth. In the past year alone, Understory has quadrupled its turnover and today has users in 11 countries. At the same time, Understory has been named by Notion Capital and Google Cloud to the list of Europe’s 100 most promising software companies in 2025.