International Airlines Group (IAG) – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – has selected a record 29 startups to join the 2025 IAGi Accelerator, marking the largest cohort in the programme’s nine-year history. Hailing from 11 countries, these innovative companies will collaborate with IAG’s airlines on solutions capable of scaling across the aviation industry.
The accelerator is IAG’s flagship open innovation programme, designed to fast-track collaboration between early-stage innovators and the Group’s airlines across six focus areas: artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics, sustainability and mobility, experiential platforms, connectivity, and next-generation computing.
For the first time, the accelerator offers two tracks depending on a startup’s readiness to deploy their solution:
- 14 startups join the Deploy Track to collaborate directly with IAG and six of its operating companies – Aer Lingus, British Airways, IAG Loyalty, Iberia, SOUTH, and Vueling. Through Deploy, startups will work on a 12-week proof-of-concept to test their solutions in operational conditions. This year, almost all participating startups are leveraging AI technologies, which range from computer vision for baggage tracking to AI models for optimising network planning.
- 15 early-stage startups have been selected for the Discover Track, which focuses on three areas: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), carbon removals and fuel efficiency. Through Discover, deep-tech startups participate in tailored sessions delivered by IAG and external experts over a six-month period, gaining valuable insights for commercialising their technologies.
“We’re welcoming the largest-ever cohort of startups to the IAGi Accelerator, drawing on exceptional talent from across the world,” said Ignacio Tovar, Director of Innovation, IAG. “We offer a unique opportunity for founders to work directly with our airlines to demonstrate the potential of their solutions. At its core, the accelerator exists to help scale the most impactful technologies for our industry, both today and into the future.”
The accelerator programme aligns with IAGi’s goal of supporting early-stage founders whose technologies demonstrate strong future potential. Over 75% of this year’s startups are at pre-seed or seed stage. Following the accelerator, many startups go on to extended trials or commercial contracts with IAG airlines, and in some cases, investment from IAG’s corporate VC, IAGi Ventures.
Since its launch in 2016, the IAGi Accelerator has supported over 120 companies. Past alumni have gone on to scale their technologies across IAG and the wider aviation industry, including Assaia – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub that specialises in optimising airport and airline operations using computer vision and AI, and Twelve, which has pioneered technology to turn captured CO₂ and hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel.
The 2025 IAGi Accelerator cohort
Deploy
- AISmartPlan (Australia) – automates maintenance planning
- Anyformat (Spain) – enables the extraction and validation of data from any document via a no-code platform
- Bonafide AI (USA) – enables businesses to adapt to generative and agentic commerce
- Cosmofoil (Sweden) – optimises airline network planning and routes using AI and natural language processing
- DAITY (Canada) – leverages AI to synthesise insights from fragmented and proxy data sources for risk management
- Evolinq (Israel) – supports procurement through AI agents for supplier communication and collaboration
- INPUTSOFT (USA) – optimises crew rostering for airport ground operations
- Journey Robotics (USA) – enables baggage loading using a robotic arm
- PixoAnalytics (Germany) – improves baggage traceability using machine vision
- Pzartech (Israel) – streamlines parts management during maintenance and overhaul operations
- Responsibly (Denmark) – improves environmental, social and governance due diligence using AI
- Signapse (UK) – provides live AI-powered Sign Language translation at scale
- Transreport (UK) – enhances transport accessibility through smart passenger assistance solutions
- VegaSpark (France) – identifies airport slot swap opportunities
Discover
- Aether Fuels (USA) – converts waste carbon into drop‑in liquid fuels using electrified reactors and novel catalysts
- Airhive (UK) – deploys modular, fluidisation‑based direct air capture systems to remove CO₂
- Ampaire (USA) – develops hybrid-electric technologies for an electric aviation future
- CERT Systems (Canada) – converts CO2 to ethylene, which can be converted to sustainable aviation fuel
- Circularity Fuels (USA) – converts biogas from waste streams into sustainable aviation fuel using electrified reactors
- Feynman Dynamics (China) – transforms CO₂ into sustainable aviation fuels using electrochemistry
- Kairos Carbon (UK) – converts low‑quality organic waste into durable carbon removal with environmental co-benefits
- Ki Hydrogen (UK) – generates green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ from biomass using energy‑efficient biomass electrolysers
- Liquid Sun (Finland) – produces power‑to‑liquid sustainable aviation fuels using renewable energy
- Lydian (USA) – converts CO₂ into sustainable aviation fuel using electrified reactors compatible with intermittent renewable energy
- Mission Zero Technologies (UK) – removes CO2 via electrochemical direct air capture
- Neela Biotech (UK) – produces fuel from waste using AI and synthetic biology, leveraging existing biogas and HEFA refinery infrastructure
- neo‑fossil (UK) – engineers microbial cells to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide
- Oleo (USA) – converts waste biomass to HEFA feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel production
- Sora Fuel (USA) – combines carbon capture and utilisation into a single process, reducing the energy required to produce sustainable aviation fuel
Hear more from International Airlines Group (IAG) at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” taking place in Long Beach, California, on 9 to 11 September 2025. David Breeze, Vice President of Airport Automation, IAG, is participating in a session focused on ‘How do we leverage technology, innovation and new approaches to create Smart Ramp operations around the world and create holistic solutions to cover airline/airport/handler needs?’
View the full FTE Global 2025 schedule at a glance >> Register for FTE Global 2025 >>You may also be interested in
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