Amadeus, a Spain-based travel operator, has launched Amadeus Ventures, a funding programme “which aims to drive strategic value through early stage minority investments in start-ups sitting at the crossroads of travel and technology.”
Katherine Grass, head of Amadeus Ventures, Amadeus IT Group, said in a blog: “The main objective of the fund is to identify and invest in start-up companies that have already developed a working prototype and sit in niche areas of the sector that we believe are at the forefront of developing market trends. Of course, Amadeus is looking at the potential financial performance of the investment, but equally at the tight commercial relationships that we will foster with the companies we invest in. And it is just as important to us that we encourage innovation for the travel industry, since innovation is part of Amadeus’ DNA.”
Amadeus Ventures has already invested in Yapta, a corporate airfare comparison service.
The fund has no specified size, but Grass states that the Yapta investment is “surely only the beginning”: “Amadeus Ventures is already in the process of evaluating and analyzing further investments and looks forward to working with more start-ups.”
Other companies to have established venturing funds in the travel sector include Concur, eLong, American Airlines and Priceline.