We’re excited to announce that AeroCloud is the newest company to join Stage 2 Capital’s portfolio. We led AeroCloud’s $12.6 million Series A joined by I2BF, Triple Point, and Praetura Ventures, along with existing investors Playfair Capital and Haatch.
We’re thrilled to partner with AeroCloud co-founders George and Ian. They set out with an audacious vision to power ‘the airport of the future’ and we think they are well on their way. They have built a tremendous product that addresses the needs of many of the world’s most innovative airports, with a path ahead of them to accomplish even more.
As a passenger walking through an airport, you may never have stopped to think about what it takes to run a large, modern airport. For instance, have you ever wondered:
- How are gates assigned?
- How are airlines billed for use of shared space?
- How do airports ensure accurate information is displayed to passengers
- How do the janitors, restaurants, convenience stores, and security checkpoints know how to plan for the capacity of passengers traveling through the terminal on any given day?
These are just some of the things that contribute to whether you settle happily into your seat as scheduled, or whether you rush to your gate on an empty stomach. And indeed, these are the things AeroCloud answers and automates for dozens of airports around the world.
Airports around the world often struggle to address these issues. Many of the world’s mega-airports (think ATL or Heathrow) have decades’ worth of investment in on-prem installs from legacy players. These systems are not modern or agile, which can make it difficult to incorporate crucial features and react quickly when things go wrong.
And yet, smaller airports often face even more difficulties. The cost and operating burden of the legacy alternatives means that the majority of commercial airports have been overlooked altogether. Many run on excel and manual processes or point solutions aimed at solving a small piece of their needs.
AeroCloud has proven that there is an opportunity to disrupt the industry, modernize how large airports operate, and bring airport operations software to more of the market.
One of the questions we kept asking ourselves was “why now?”. Cloud-based software is not new, and yet it feels like we are at a crossroads for the industry. If you are a frequent traveler, or even just follow the news, you know the pain is real.
As the air travel industry recovers post-Covid, passenger traffic has shifted and many smaller airports face increased demand. At the same time, government and private investment in airport infrastructure is growing rapidly. Most notably, the US Bipartisan Infrastructure Law represents a ~ 5% increase from historical funding levels for airport infrastructure to upgrade terminals and improve the passenger experience, so we believe the time is now for modern software. With cloud software’s modular approach and lower cost basis, it is a large potential leap forward for airports of all sizes!
AeroCloud is taking off ✈️. If you’re feeling our excitement, check this team out - we’re actively hiring in the US and Europe and will be posting more roles in the coming weeks!