Yieldin, a smart inventory management system for airlines, announced that it received an investment from Team ABC, a transportation and travel tech investment fund, with a vision to use the capital to contribute to the airline industry that is among the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Following the acquisition of an undisclosed amount, Team ABC and Yieldin — which is headquartered in Paris — will focus on entering new markets and accelerating global expansion, with a strong focus on Latin America.
A new report from the UN’s air transportation agency shows international passenger traffic suffered a 60% drop over the course of last year, bringing air travel totals back to 2003 levels.
Just 1.8 billion passengers took to the air in 2020, compared to 4.5 billion the previous year, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
That adds up to a financial loss to the industry of around $370 billion, with airports and air navigation services providers losing a further $115 billion and $13 billion, respectively.
The investment in Yieldin comes at a time when airlines are betting on technology to optimize their businesses and recover while future-proofing their operation models to be able to navigate change in turbulent times.
Self-learning RM software
Yieldin offers next-generation revenue management (RM) software that has led to the firm’s recognition as a “Young Innovative Company” by France’s Research Ministry.
“Thanks to this strong partnership, we will be able to develop new elements and specialize our products even further in this new and challenging travel environment,” — Yieldin CEO Laurent Lebard.
The startup has developed a suite of revenue management products called Visium, which is being used by airlines across Europe and Africa.
With Visium, airlines can maximize both core and ancillary revenue through a single tool while getting one set of reports. In addition, Yieldin’s technology enables companies to optimize revenue strategy based on its self-learning revenue build curves.
It actually allows airlines to easily and intuitively use various strategies for pricing and demand management at flight or market-level and gives recommendations for availability and prices based on real-time demand, according to the company.
“The Yieldin team has proven that it can not just survive but also scale its successful business model during a challenging period like the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Aurelius Noell, partner of Team ABC.
Team ABC helps scale the solutions of early-stage disruptive technology companies focused on increasing the sustainability and speeding up the digital transformation of air, land, and sea trade and travel.
The venture capital firm features partners with decades of experience in the logistics and travel space, including at airlines such as Viva Air, LEVEL Airlines, and Tiger Airways Group, as well as experienced investors and startup experts like the co-founder of Ireland’s first startup accelerator.
“Thanks to this strong partnership, we will be able to develop new elements and specialize our products even further in this new and challenging travel environment,” said Yieldin CEO Laurent Lebard.
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
