• December 21, 2004

Online travel search engine Kayak.com just received $7 million in venture funding from Sequoia Capital, bringing its total funds to $15.5 million, Kayak said Tuesday.

Kayak plans to use the funds to further develop its search engine--which launched in beta in September--and to run online ads, said Dana Galin, Kayak's vice president of communications. Initially, the company plans to purchase sponsored search listings, starting with 300 keywords and ramping up to 20,000 in the first quarter, said Galin. The company will also run online banners, although the ads still need to be created, Galin said.

Last month, America Online announced it was taking a minority stake in Kayak. The companies are partnering to create a Web-based travel search site.

--Wendy Davis