Twelve semi-finalists picked to pitch at WiT Experience Singapore
TRAVEL startups solving a variety of problems from addressing consumer anxiety about safety and sustainability to fixing new and pressing pain points faced by the industry will compete for the title of WiT Startup Pitch of the Year 2021 this October.
After a close and intense round of deliberation by a handpicked panel of judges, a total of 12 startups have been selected to pitch during WiT Experience Singapore, the first travel conference in Asia Pacific to return to a full physical and hybrid format at Marina Bay Sands.
The semi-finals will be held on October 19, the first day, and three finalists will go on to the Grand Finals on October 20 and a winner announced that day.
The 12 semi-finalists (with a summary of what they do) are:
- CityGuyd – AR tech on real life tours improving the travel experience
- inDest – AI powered B2B2C platform to help travel companies drive in-destination revenue
- indie – creator software for travel entrepreneurs
- Kotozna Live Chat – SaaS travel tech made to automate, digitise and manage data of hotel’s call centre operations
- Kyte – API for airlines to transform the way they build, price and distribute their product to customers
- LHD – Marketplace for holiday packages
- RunGO – app for audio-guided running routes
- Safe Travel Barometer – SaaS and API solutions for travel companies to assess travel-health security compliance.
- Save A Train – GDS for Rail
- Table4One – Matching platform for solo business travellers
- Thrust Carbon – sustainability solutions for large global enterprise clients with a particular focus on corporate travel
- TrekSecure – Automated contact investigation processes for commercial aviation
“Congratulations to the dozen entrepreneurs who made it,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WiT. “It’s heartening that even with the challenges of the last two years, enthusiasm within the travel startup space is still strong and we received entries from across the world. Some of this year’s entries might find their growth accelerated, not hindered, by the forces that shape returning travel.
“This period, the pandemic, has also been a great leveller. For visionary, daring, and agile young businesses, there will be blue ocean moments ahead that they are uniquely positioned to make the most of. Our semi-finalists appear to meet the call of the times – from curated destination experiences to live chat to services built around safety, security and sustainability.
“It was interesting to see the judges pick some that were niche products and some that solved new and pressing pain points for travel. We want to thank the 14 judges for putting in the time to get us to this stage of the competition.”
The WiT Startup Pitch 2021, powered by Amadeus, is held in partnership with AWS which will provide up to US$250,000 worth of AWS credits and technical support through the AWS Activate program. The winner will have the opportunity to present in person during the 5 minutes in the Spotlight session at The Phocuswright Conference in Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood, Florida, November 15-17, 2021.
The WiT Startup Pitch is an annual event that seeks out the most innovative startups in the travel technology space. It is returning for its 13th year and winners in the last three years have included Dream Drive, Japan, which evolved into a manufacturer of campervans to survive Covid; IDEM Hospitality, now Groups360, following an acquisition; and Split that is a “Buy Now, Pay Later” product which pivoted out of travel to general e-commerce due to the pandemic.
“We are very proud of our alumni of winners because they represent the best of startups – creative, resilient and determined,” said Yeoh. “We look forward to welcoming the next winner who will be crowned next month.”
