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Plug and Play Chooses Batch Two for its Travel & Hospitality Innovation Platform
[October 20, 2016]

Plug and Play Chooses Batch Two for its Travel & Hospitality Innovation Platform


SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- After vetting more than 1000 startups, Plug and Play's Travel & Hospitality Innovation Platform has accepted 20 startups into its first batch of the program. The current partners of the program include Carlson Wagonlit Travel, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Lufthansa Innovation Hub, IATA, Michelin, TUI Group, Panasonic Avionics and Turkish Airlines. These corporate partners will work side by side with the startups for three months through structured deal review, mentor sessions, pilots, investments, and potential acquisition.

"We're ecstatic about the current cohort of startups and look forward to building relationships with them throughout the duration of the program," said Vincent Lebunetel, VP Corporate Innovation at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, "Plug and Play gives us a bird's-eye view into not only our own interests but industry direction as a whole – an invaluable resource when approaching innovation strategy."

This batch includes a range of innovative startups including:






8tree

8tree makes 3D surface inspection tools that solve chronic problems. Airlines and MROs are adopting 8tree's dentCHECK tool to improve dent-mapping efficiency by more than 90%.  The unmatched accuracy and consistency delivered by dentCHECK helps ensure the long-term structural health and safety of aircraft.  As with all 8tree products, dentCHECK is designed to empower the operator/mechanic – zero-learning curve, 1-button operation and actionable 'go/ no-go' answers in seconds.



AirGo

AirGo Design brings economy class seating to 21st century. With new technologies, award- winning design and materials used, passengers will enjoy new levels of comfort while airlines will be able to improve profits with lightest seats ever.



Avisell

Avisell helps airlines resell high demand inventory by targeting low fare passengers and presenting them with personalized, pre- departure offers to buy back or re-book their ticket.



Beyond Pricing

Beyond Pricing (www.beyondpricing.com) is the first and most popular revenue management and dynamic pricing software for the $100B vacation rental and homesharing market. Beyond is the first software to optimize prices for distinct, individual units of perishable inventory - an incredibly hard problem that they've solved for over 50,000 listings in over 250 global markets. Beyond Pricing integrates directly into major listing sites and property management systems like HomeAway Software.



DigitalGenius

DigitalGenius is a venture-backed artificial intelligence company based in London and San Francisco which brings practical applications of deep learning and artificial intelligence into the customer service operations of large companies. As a pioneer in the space, DigitalGenius has developed the Human+AITM Platform for Customer Service.



Innovative Binaries

Innovative Binaries' artificial intelligence platform provides the quickest way for operators to leverage benefits of their aircraft sensor data - accelerating failure detection, improving safety, and reducing operating costs.



Kiana Analytics

Kiana provides patented cloud-based real-time device detection and presence analytics for companies in the travel, event, retail and other sectors to improve customer satisfaction, strengthen on-site security, operations and execute real-time marketing services. www.kiana.io



Koniku

We envision a future (< 2yrs) where an airport can screen hundreds of passengers and luggage for explosives, contrabands and other regulated items in an instant. Our complete odor surveillance systems adds a game changing layer to current data sets available to airports and airlines. Koniku merges biological neurons with silicon technology complete with odor sensing, classification and real biological learning.



LikeWhere

LikeWhere shows you, the traveler, where to go in new cities based on what you like in cities you already know. 

When integrated with an airline or hospitality brand domain, the LikeWhere platform creates beautiful and engaging content experiences while also surfacing the 'interest-graphs' of each individual user for more relevant conversations between travel brands and their customers.



Mission Control

Mission Control is a provider-agnostic end-to-end travel assistant handling requests 24/7 and globally via SMS, Instant Messenger and email. Focus is on B2B customers (SMEs) paying a monthly subscription fee between 35 to 65 USD per user. Customer profiling, travel rules, company-wide travel analytics in real-time as well as convenient export of data for travel expense management as core USP to comparable conversational commerce player.



NomadApp

Get the travel experience you want for the price you choose. NomadApp is an experience based travel planner. Just tell us your budget and preferences - we'll show you where you can travel.



Pilot AI

Pilot AI Labs is a deep-learning based computer vision framework targeted towards running on compute- constrained embedded devices. This framework enables functionality like highly accurate object detection, tracking, and identification. enabling applications where computer vision was previously intractable, such as environments where bandwidth limits connectivity to the cloud, or where real-time response to environmental changes is required.



Redrock Biometrics

Redrock Biometrics develops PalmID--the first practical touchless palm print authentication solution. PalmID is a perfect solution for IoT. I It is 400X more secure than fingerprint and can work on any smart device with a camera. Show your palm and you are in, easy and secure.



Relimetrics

Relimetrics is developing Industry 4.0 imaging solutions to evaluate and monitor structural reliability for various military/ commercial aerospace/aircraft applications. We are disrupting the current mechanical reliability industry by replacing existing bulky and costly systems with mobile, IoT connected, sensor-agnostic, user-friendly systems that allow users to both visualize and quantify defects and material deformation real-time.



ShoCard

ShoCard is a digital identity card platform built on mobile devices and the public blockchain data layer, using public/private key encryption and data hashing to safely store and exchange identity data. Providing digital identity that protects consumer privacy and is as easy to understand and use as showing a driver's license, but secure enough that a bank can rely on it.



Skylights

Skylights does VR on planes, as passenger inflight entertainment. Skylights enable passengers to wear VR headsets on an aircraft, to tune out their environment and escape their flight. Skylights integrates content licensing deals, secure software, the right hardware, and ground operations.



TimePlace

The TimePlace platform provides a unique way for travelers to discover the real world. It visually organizes information by time and location benefiting consumers, brands, and local businesses. Our mission is to improve the traveler experience by connecting them to events, activities and offers at exactly the right moment and context.



Utrip

Utrip is a destination discovery and travel planning platform that brings together the best in artificial intelligence and human experience to help travelers discover destinations and plan trips in uniquely personal and enjoyable ways. Utrip PRO helps increase engagement, loyalty and conversion rates by providing a white labeled offering of the Utrip platform to hospitality brands, cruise lines, points of interest, airlines, and Destination Marketing Organizations.




Plug and Play Travel & Hospitality is an ecosystem connecting forward-thinking corporations and venture capitalists with startups that are developing technology redefining how the world travels. This Innovation Platform runs twice a year for 20-30 travel-focused startups that are chosen by Plug and Play's venture team, VC partners, and corporate partners.

"Even before the program started, the Plug and Play team was already helping us with introductions to major travel industry players," said Ian McHenry, Co-Founder and CEO of BeyondPricing. "For a company like ours at an inflection point, having access to the extensive travel industry network that Plug and Play provides is incomparable."

The startups will pitch their polished ideas to corporate partners and investors at Plug and Play's Travel & Hospitality EXPO. To see these startups in person, attend Plug and Play's EXPO on Dec. 15. Register here: http://bit.ly/2dJOVUG

About Plug and Play Tech Center
Plug and Play Tech Center is a global innovation platform. We connect startups to corporations and invest in over 100 companies every year.  Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include entrepreneurs from 24 countries, providing necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley.  With over 6,000 startups and 126 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. Plug and Play provides active investments with 180 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and more than 365 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $3.5 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk. For more information, visit: http://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

Media Contact:
Allison Romero
Phone: 408-524-1457
Email: [email protected]

 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/plug-and-play-chooses-batch-two-for-its-travel--hospitality-innovation-platform-300348585.html

SOURCE Plug and Play Tech Center


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