BCD Travel has announced a strategic investment in AMGINE, a corporate travel AI automation platform. BCD says the investment programme accelerates its focus on delivering AI-powered solutions to enhance the traveller experience and drive greater value for corporate travel programmes.
The investment also means BCD and AMGINE can expand an existing partnership that has generated AI initiatives in group-air management, email automation and other areas across BCD.
“This is an exciting development that fits perfectly with our Open by Design philosophy, where we combine BCD’s proprietary technology and unmatched service with an ecosystem of best-in-class partners to give clients flexibility, choice and access to leading innovation,” said Stephan Baars, CEO of BCD. “Travel buyers increasingly expect AI to improve efficiency, service quality and the traveller experience. In partnering even more closely with AMGINE, including aligning our technology roadmaps, we’re moving faster to produce meaningful and visible results for travel programmes of all types.”
BCD’s AI strategy combines three approaches: building AI capabilities into the Tripsource platform, integrating specialised AI solutions from partners such as AMGINE, and giving customers access to third-party AI tools they can incorporate into their travel programmes.
“In the past year, we’ve seen incredible productivity benefits from the AMGINE AI platform in areas such as group booking, where we’ve serviced hundreds of group air programmes and parsed thousands of emails so agents can focus on the experience they deliver to travellers,” said Yannis Karmis, executive vice-president of product planning & development at BCD. “Because AMGINE’s technology has delivered proven results, we’re ready to scale and extend that value to additional areas of the operation across the world.”
Greg Apple, CEO of AMGINE, added: “The future of corporate travel won’t be built by replacing existing technology; it will come from connecting the best technologies together. Our expanded partnership with BCD demonstrates what’s possible when AI is integrated into proven travel platforms, creating smarter experiences for travellers while helping travel teams operate faster, more efficiently, and at greater scale.”
