Amadeus Ventures will invest in early-stage startups sitting at the crossroads of technology and travel in APAC starting 2020.
The funding support for startups signals the strong potential the region holds for investors in the long term. Amadeus Ventures will provide funding, industry expertise, technology, and customer reach to its portfolio companies, executing business ideas that will, directly and indirectly, improve the experiences of travelers.
According to Google’s e-Conomy SEA 2019 report, more than $37 billion of capital has flowed into the Internet economy over the last four years. While the majority has gone to e-Commerce and Ride-Hailing Unicorns, over $7 billion in investment funding went to more than 3,000 Internet economy startups in the last four years in South East Asia. China is also driving ahead of Silicon Valley and the rest of the United States on venture capital dollars invested into startups.[2] It is also the world’s most funded company in terms of Travel & Mobility tech.
Born in 2014 as an innovation vehicle to drive collaboration with the startup ecosystem, Amadeus has introduced more than 150 startups to its business units and has developed more than 20 joint projects with its portfolio companies like Refundit, Volantio and Dawex.
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“Our main aim in expanding Amadeus Ventures across APAC is to encourage and nurture innovation in the travel industry. We not only offer funding but also our industry expertise and network to help young start-ups achieve their strategic and commercial goals,” said Suzanna Chiu, Head of Amadeus Ventures.
Stephanie Strunk will be the Amadeus Ventures representative for the region, searching for the latest innovations in travel technology startups, she says of the industry: “Travel startups across APAC are frequently disrupting the industry, challenging the way we think about innovation. To keep up with the pace of change, funding for travel startups is increasing at the same rate – reaching record highs. With China leading in this space, we don’t expect the rest of APAC will be that far behind, working on new solutions and ideas to enhance the overall traveler experience”.
Startups who are interested in finding out more about Amadeus Ventures can proactively reach out by filling in the dedicated form on the Amadeus website.
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