FLYR, a technology company that focuses on innovating for the travel industry, announced a $295 million Series D funding round for accelerating the delivery of modern reservation systems, elevating digital channels, and enabling AI-based decision automation for the world’s largest airlines and hospitality brands. The company also received an additional $70 million in credit led by Vista Credit Partners to scale its product offerings around the globe.
This 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). Plus, a long-time customer and one of the largest airlines in South America, Avianca, also participated in the latest Series D capital raise. With over $500 million raised to date, FLYR has become one of the best-funded travel technology companies to address the archaic technology constraints plaguing the multi-trillion dollar travel industry.
Using AI, FLYR enables travel businesses to improve revenue, reduce costs, and modernize their reservation systems. Built on 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.
This additional funding will enable FLYR to scale and accelerate the delivery of modern reservation systems that form the digital foundation for every airline. And 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 traveler.
In connection with the funding, 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, the largest investor in FLYR. For 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.
This news follows a significant period of monumental growth for FLYR. Over the last year, FLYR’s annualized recurring revenue grew by 290%.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’ve been dedicated to reimagining the travel experience since inception. 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.”
– Alex Mans, Founder and CEO, FLYR
“Much of the travel industry has been technologically stagnant for years, reliant on a handful of legacy incumbents with limited capacity to innovate. 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.”
– Laurence A. Tosi, Managing Partner and Founder of WestCap
“Delivering the best experience to our customers is core to every decision we make at our airlines. 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.”
– Adrian Neuhauser, CEO of Abra Group & Executive Vice Chairman at Avianca
