FLYR, the technology company that unlocks freedom to innovate for the travel industry, announced a $295 million capital raise to accelerate the delivery of modern reservation systems, elevate digital channels, and enable AI-based decision automation for the world’s largest airlines and hospitality brands.
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The funding round was led by WestCap and included investments from BlackRock, Streamlined Ventures, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). FLYR has raised $225 million in Series D capital, and received an additional $70 million in credit led by Vista Credit Partners to scale its product offerings around the globe.
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Notably, long-time customer and one of the largest airlines in South America, Avianca also participated in the latest Series D capital raise. Now, with over $500M raised to-date, FLYR has become one of the best-funded travel technology companies in history to address the archaic technology constraints that plague the multi-trillion dollar travel industry.
The World Travel & Tourism Council predicts the travel industry will make up nearly 12 percent of global GDP in the next decade, soaring 50 percent by 2032. Yet, as the rest of the world embraces artificial intelligence (AI) and new retail experiences powered by the cloud, the travel sector lags behind, often reliant on legacy technology that cannot meet travelers’ demand for a seamless customer experience.
Natively powered by AI, FLYR enables travel businesses to improve revenue, reduce costs, and modernize their reservation systems. Built upon modularity and open standards, including IATA New Distribution Capability (NDC) and ONE Order, FLYR makes it possible for airlines and hotels to break away from legacy constraints, better understand and manage vast amounts of data, and connect hundreds of technology systems.
The additional capital will enable FLYR to scale and accelerate the delivery of modern reservation systems that form the digital foundation for every airline. Forward-thinking travel companies like Avianca, JetBlue, Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic, Best Western Scandinavia, and more use FLYR to deliver the best digital experience for each of their travelers.
“We’ve been dedicated to reimagining the travel experience since inception,” said Alex Mans, Founder and CEO, FLYR. “As the world around us continues to advance, travel has remained in the past, reliant on an oligopoly of archaic technology vendors with misaligned incentives. FLYR makes the future possible today – helping travel providers create the experience customers want, while operating with speed and efficiency. This capital raise is a testament to the growth FLYR has achieved thus far and we’re excited to continue supporting the world’s largest travel providers at pace.”
In support of the company’s growth trajectory, Laurence A. Tosi will join FLYR’s board of directors, lending his expertise in building and scaling industry leading companies as FLYR embarks on global expansion. Laurence is the Managing Partner and Founder of WestCap, a strategic operating and investing firm and the largest investor in FLYR. For over 25 years, Laurence has established his career as a distinctive operator, serial entrepreneur and forward-looking investor in the financial services and travel sectors, previously serving in senior roles including CFO of both Airbnb and Blackstone, and was COO of Merrill Lynch Investment Banking and Trading.
“Much of the travel industry has been technologically stagnant for years, reliant on a handful of legacy incumbents with limited capacity to innovate,” said Laurence A. Tosi, Managing Partner and Founder of WestCap. “FLYR delivers the open and dynamic platform the travel industry needs to better serve travelers and expand their services. WestCap is proud to support FLYR with growth capital and operating support as the company leads the modernization of travel with the potential to join other successful industry leading disruptors, such as Airbnb and Hopper.”
This news follows a period of monumental growth for FLYR. Over the last 12 months, FLYR’s annualized recurring revenue grew by 290 percent. In 2023, FLYR was recognized as the “Best AI-Based Solution for Transportation” by the AI Breakthrough Awards, and launched FLYR for Hospitality, a next-generation analytics suite for hotel leaders. The company deepened its relationships with customers like JetBlue and Avianca, and established new deals with Virgin Atlantic, Best Western Scandinavia, and The Boca Raton.
“Delivering the best experience to our customers is core to every decision we make at our airlines,” said Adrian Neuhauser, CEO of Abra Group & Executive Vice Chairman at Avianca. “FLYR helps us achieve this goal everyday by delivering modern commerce capabilities to our customers and our global airline partners. This capital raise will help propel our industry forward – providing the technology that airlines need.”
About FLYR
FLYR is a technology company that unlocks freedom to innovate for the travel industry – eliminating legacy constraints to enable real-time decision making and create the experiences travelers seek. Cloud native, FLYR leverages technologies including deep learning, an advanced form of AI. FLYR is helping airlines and hospitality businesses around the globe improve revenue performance, reduce cost, and modernize their e-commerce experience.
