●   Acai Travel raises $4M Seed round led by Nauta alongside DraperB1 and One Travel Ventures

●   Founders have decades of experience in the travel industry and as Head of AI at AMEX Global Travel

●   Acai Travel's AI-powered solutions are already being used by the likes of Kiwi.com, lastminute.com, World Travel Inc. and Goway

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‍Barcelona and New York, 7th November 2024. Acai Travel, the software platform using AI to reinvent travel operations, announced today that it has raised a $4M Seed round led by Nauta, with participation from DraperB1 and existing investor One Travel Ventures. This funding will help Acai Travel expand its mission to build the operating system for travel operations, providing an all-in-one solution to double agent efficiency, optimize travel call centers, and enhance the travel experience. The platform supports a rapidly expanding client base across all travel segments, featuring industry leaders, including Kiwi.com, lastminute.com, WorldTravel Inc, Goway, and others.

Riccardo Vittoria (Co-founder and CEO) and Henry Chen Weinstein (Co-founder and Executive Chairman) founded Acai Travel in 2023, building on the successful exit of their previous startup collaboration, 30SecondsToFly, founded by Vittoria. Weinstein, a prominent travel tech investor, was an early backer of the startup, which was later acquired by American Express Global Business Travel (NYSE: GBTG), the world’s largest travel management company. Vittoria then led the AI efforts at AMEX GBT before co-founding Acai Travel. Weinstein brings deep industry experience from advising and managing funds for Boeing, Lufthansa, EL AL, Gate Group and Avolta, while Vittoria's expertise in AI, travel operations, and digital customer experience shaped the vision for Acai Travel.

Over 50% of travel is managed by agents, yet their jobs have never been more challenging. The Acai Travel team have long believed that while the travel industry has evolved significantly, the tools available to agents have not kept pace. Travel operations have become more complex with the introduction of numerous systems and new inventory distribution methods, which accelerated after COVID. Additionally, there is an unmet demand for new agents due to mass attrition during the pandemic. This inefficiency and demand is seen across airlines, online travel agencies, travel management companies and hotels.

"Acai is using AI to modernize travel operations with fast and easy-to-use tools so agents can focus on what they do best—delivering exceptional travel experiences. It’s an exciting milestone to raise a Seed round from experienced investors who understand the industry challenge and are backing us to solve it," said Riccardo Vittoria, Co-founder and CEO of Acai Travel.

Acai’s core offerings offer operational flexibility in a time of hiring challenges and rising operational costs. Individual solutions include the AI Helpers that quickly provide any policy information such as fare rules, cancellations and more in a conversational manner; GDS Overlay which translates "GDS speak" into plain English; AI Translation which seamlessly translates between the agent's native language and the traveler's; and Intelligent Routing which routes travelers to the right agent based on their need.

Combined together, these solutions multiply their effects and can reduce operations cost for a large agency by 50%while providing equal or higher customer service. For example, Intelligent Routing + AI Translation + AI Helpers = the ability to deploy an agent in a low-cost country to serve any account in any language. Additionally, Intelligent Routing + AI Translation + GDS Overlay = the ability to deploy anon-GDS trained agent in a low-cost country to serve any account in any language.

"In under four months, we've reduced average handling time by 20% for one of our TMC customers on a single account. As we roll out our full suite of products, including enabling non-GDS trained agents to manage complex requests, we can achieve a 70% cost reduction. It’s time to bring travel operations into the21st century—AI is the key to making that happen,” says Henry Chen Weinstein, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Acai Travel.

In addition to operational efficiency, Acai opens up new opportunities for travel companies to gather deeper insights into traveler behavior and preferences. By analyzing feedback and identifying areas for improvement, Acai helps businesses continuously refine their offerings, leading to better traveler experiences and increased loyalty. This kind of AI and data-driven approach gives travel companies a competitive edge, allowing them to anticipate trends, reduce costs, and optimize their operations in a way that was previously unimaginable without the support of AI.

"Covid-19 restrictions caused a huge drop in demand for travel and subsequently led to many trained agents leaving the sector. As demand returned to pre-pandemic levels, companies have struggled with efficiency and profitability. But Acai Travel’s platform, making use of LLM technologies and deep sector expertise, transforms travel operations by enabling companies to reduce handling times, hire untrained agents and build a cheaper, more flexible workforce. We’ve been really impressed by the founding team’s industry experience and are really excited to see the impact they have on the travel industry over the long term." Jordi Viñas, General Partner at Nauta, commented.

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