A car accident left Alvaro Silberstein paralyzed when he was 18 years old. Now 39, he has spent more than two decades navigating the world from a wheelchair. Silberstein and his lifelong friend Camilo Navarro co-founded Wheel the World in 2017 after a brutal hike in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park.
It was there Silberstein realized that “accessibility in travel has never been just an infrastructure problem. It has been an information problem,” he said. Since then, the startup has built an accessibility mapping app that tracks key accessibility data points at hotels, from bed height and door width to entrance types and roll-in shower dimensions.
The solution has gained the attention of disability-lens investors such as Enable Ventures, which co-led Wheel the World’s $11 million Series A round alongside Kayyak Ventures. Enable invests in disabled entrepreneurs and in technology solutions that assist people living with disabilities.
Silberstein’s “origin story reinforces that innovation stems from being close to the problems you’re solving and having deep conviction that tech innovation, when designed with and not just for the community, can tackle some of the most persistent societal level barriers,” Enable’s Regina Kline told ImpactAlpha (see, “Closing the disability gap”).
AI powered
Wheel the World has collected accessibility data across more than 200 destinations and 8,000 travel services globally. The fresh capital will support the expansion of the app in the US and Europe and the integration of AI.
Such capabilities “allows us to deliver AI-powered experiences where travelers with disabilities can plan with clarity and confidence, knowing exactly what to expect,” Silberstein said. At the beginning of the year, Wheel the World partnered with Experience Grand Rapids and nonprofit Disability Advocates of Kent County to launch an AI-powered accessibility travel tool that helps users customize their travel based on disabilities including mobility, vision, hearing and sensory needs.
Other backers in the Series A round include ImpactaVC and Samaritan Partners, a “benefit fund.” Former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford and former Booking.comCEO Gillian Tans also invested.
