Skift Take
Nineteen travel startups raised $1.1 billion near the start of October. Then it slowed down.
Travel Startup Funding This Week
Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at [email protected] if you have funding news.
Mid September to early October was the most active time period for travel funding of the year: 13 startups raised $600 million, and then another six startups raised $500 million.
The past two weeks have been a bit quieter. Eight travel startups announced fundraises totaling nearly $40 million.
Beacon AI: $15 MillionBeacon AI, which is developing AI systems meant to boost the performance airline pilots, has raised $15 million in series A funding.
Costanoa Ventures led the round, with backing from Scout Ventures, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and JetBlue Ventures.
The company has now raised a total of $20 million.
The Silicon Valley-based company is developing AI-powered tools for commercial and defense pilots. The tools are Murdock, an AI-powered pilot assistant meant to help pilots with flight safety, operational efficiency, and live flight support. Its other product in development is Lighthouse, a data platform and flight management system.
"From our start, we've had the goal of augmenting pilots with advanced technology that helps them perform their jobs more efficiently and safely," said Matt Cox, CEO of Beacon AI, in a statement. "Everyone in aviation is under pressure to improve safety, and planes' flight decks and pilots remain underserved. We are building something I wish I had in my decade as a naval aviator and 20 years as a pilot."
The company has a full roster of beta clients in 2024 and is opening sign-ups for additional clients in 2025.