Canadian budget carrier Lynx Air is expanding its U.S. footprint.
09.12.2023 - 06:49 / skift.com / Justin Dawes / Airlines
Seven travel startups have announced fundraises of more than $305 million over the past week.
Beond, a “premium leisure” airline startup, has raised $13 million in pre-series A funding.
Investors include family offices, angel investors, and strategic partners, the company said.
The startup said it is now looking for investors for a series A round of $25 million. The company completed an oversubscribed seed round of $17 million in August 2023.
Beond is headquartered in Dubai, with its first hub at the Velana International Airport in Malé, Maldives. Beond last month started commercial flights between its hub and airports in Munich, Zurich, and Riyadh.
The startup has one plane, an Airbus A319 aircraft, with 44 seats that lie flat. The airline said its experience includes “fine dining,” with Beond-branded fine china from William Edwards and cutlery from Robert Welch. It also offers a limousine flight transfer service for certain flights.
Beond said in a statement last month that the company’s goal is to have 32 aircraft and 60 destinations within five years. The company next July plans to start flights from its hub to Bangkok and Milan, according to its website.
The funding will go toward the startup’s growth plans, which include hiring and scaling sales and marketing.
Air Space Intelligence, which provides software to commercial airlines and other clients, has raised $34 million in series B funding. It was led by firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with support from Bloomberg Beta, Renegade Partners, and Spark Capital.
San Francisco-based ASI said its AI-powered platform allows air operation centers to more easily monitor and optimize flights, meant to fill a gap where legacy systems are struggling to keep up with increasingly complex air travel operations. The software can monitor tens of thousands of airborne objects at different altitudes and predict how they are moving, the company said.
Clients include Alaska Airlines and other U.S. airlines. The company has signed three contracts with the U.S. Air Force in the past four months and plans to expand business with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Center, which provides companies software to streamline expense management, has raised $30 million in series C funding.
The round was led by Top Tier Capital Partners, with support from Durable Capital Partners. The company said it has now raised $140 million.
The Washington-based startup said it can provide corporate cards to clients’ employees along with a platform that tracks spending, including business travel.
The company is exploring how it can allow clients to integrate its tools into other software products they use day-to-day.
“We are confident that how a payments platform integrates with
Canadian budget carrier Lynx Air is expanding its U.S. footprint.
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