We make driving abroad easy for travelers.
Renting a car can give travelers the freedom to venture beyond familiar destinations, but driving in another country often brings uncertainty about local rules, road signs, driving customs, and potentially even opposite-side driving. Tripiamo is addressing that gap with verified online driving guides that prepare international travelers to navigate confidently and safely before they arrive.
Founder and CEO John Cortese launched Tripiamo after seeing the opportunity from both a professional and personal perspective. Before starting the company three years ago, John led economic trending for the travel and tourism sector at Visa. An avid traveler who has visited roughly 60 countries in the past decade, he also understood firsthand the hesitation that can come with driving abroad—even in places where travelers speak the language but encounter unfamiliar road systems or drive on the opposite side.
Tripiamo offers country-specific tutorials reviewed by local experts and verified by in-country driving schools. The guides equip travelers with practical knowledge so they can drive more like a local and avoid relying solely on blogs, un-verified videos or secondhand advice. The need is significant: according to the CDC, motor vehicle crashes accounted for 26% of non-natural deaths among U.S. citizens abroad from 2019–2021, making them the leading cause. For travel businesses, the service can strengthen their customer experience, support self-drive itineraries, help insurers reduce costly disruptions, and create a new ancillary offering for car rental companies, online travel agencies and automobile associations.
Customer survey data reflects the potential impact: travelers reported an average confidence score of 36 out of 100 before using Tripiamo and 86 afterward. Early stage data shows Tripiamo is helping reduce accident rates as well as the severity of accidents for foreign travelers. The company currently serves six markets in Western Europe, with a seventh on the way, and ultimately wants to bring its guidance to all travelers wherever they rent cars around the world. Its central challenge is securing the resources and capital needed to expand quickly enough to meet that opportunity.
“The network Travel Tech is building is closely aligned with what we want to build,” John said. “We’re excited to expand our connections in the travel industry and get to know other founders and investors. We also see opportunities to begin conversations with potential investors, share what we’re building, and learn from people who understand the travel technology space.”
Through Travel Tech’s Start-Up Membership Program, Tripiamo is looking to broaden its industry relationships and connect with the capital and expertise needed for its next stage of growth. By making international driving preparation more useful and credible, the company is helping travelers feel ready to take the wheel and explore beyond the usual route while also helping travel businesses generate incremental revenue, reduce operational expenses and generate improved customer experiences.