Travel technology company Amadeus has made an unspecified minority investment in New York-based AI specialist Acai Travel.
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The investment, made via its Amadeus Ventures funding programme, will add to the company¡¯s own AI capabilities, with Acai specialising in supporting TMCs and OTAs in ¡°reducing handling times, empowering a young, non-GDS-trained workforce, and cutting costs with end-to-end automation¡±.
Acai Travel co-founder and CEO, Riccardo Vittoria, said the investment will accelerate the company¡¯s efforts to both create an ¡°AI-first infrastructure¡± for the travel industry and deliver AI agents to empower travel professionals in, for example, managing back-office operations and providing concierge-level service.
¡°We are already cutting average handling times by 50 per cent for our TMC and OTA clients, and we will begin working with airlines soon,¡± said Vittoria.
Suzanna Chiu, head of Amadeus Ventures, said: ¡°We are proud to support the industry and invest in early-stage startups, ensuring we remain at the cutting-edge of our industry.
¡°The investment announced today with Acai Travel is a great example of this ambition in action, further equipping Amadeus to exploit the significant opportunities presented by Generative AI. We continue to partner with innovative startups and remain open to new propositions across the entire value chain.¡±