AeroCloud Systems has announced seed investment of £1.2 million, led by VC fund Playfair Capital.
AeroCloud is a cloud-based airport management solution. It provides real-time data to enable management of critical operations.
Its predictive AI, resource management & planning system identifies future passenger flow with 97% accuracy to ensure maximum gate optimisation, essential at a time when the industry needs additional support to recuperate from the effects of the pandemic.
The business, based in Cheshire, will launch across Europe later this year after significant success in the US, having deployed their platform in major airports such as Tampa International and John Wayne in California.
This investment will also drive further growth in North America as airports look to utilise newer technologies to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. Many airports operate at as little as 65% occupancy, potentially losing millions in revenue.
CEO George Richardson and CTO Ian Forde-Smith launched the business in 2017 to address a gap in the legacy airport operations market. Previous solutions failed to allow airport controllers to immediately see incoming activity and manage traffic accordingly.
“Myself and my co-founder, Ian Forde-Smith, always felt the airport operations sector was an underserved market that we could have a huge impact on,” said Richardson. “And we’ve shown that a combination of genuinely innovative technology and great service is really resonating with the airports we speak to.
“The pandemic has given us an opportunity to show airport executives how our platform can optimise their operations and save them costs when they’ve needed to most.
“As vaccination programmes ramp up around the world, air travel is set to make a big comeback in the US and then Europe, our two key markets. We’re incredibly excited about the opportunity this presents us to rapidly accelerate the growth of our business.”
Chris Smith, managing partner at Playfair Capital, added: “At Playfair, we love finding world-class founders building exceptional companies in overlooked industries and Aerocloud is a perfect example of this.
“George and Ian have created the world’s most advanced cloud-native software solution for the aviation industry to the delight of their customers. It is an absolute privilege to be able to join their journey and help them grow the company into a global market leader.”