OpenAirlines Raises 1 Million Euros from Alter Equity3P and Bpifrance to Support SkyBreathe® Eco-flying Software

TOULOUSE, France, February 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

OpenAirlines crosses a new stage in its development with a second fundraising of €1 million, signed equally by its historic shareholder, the leading French investment fund committed to Sustainable Development Alter Equity3P, and a €500k loan granted by Bpifrance.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160718/390422LOGO )

This investment completes company's first raise of € 1 million made in June 2015 and will accelerate the SkyBreathe development towards a use of the software in the cockpit, in real time, while nowadays the software is only used by pilots before or after their flights.

Allowing airlines to reduce their carbon footprint while reducing their fuel bill, that's the innovative concept behind SkyBreathe®, an eco-flying software launched in 2013 by OpenAirlines. Drawing on 8 years of R&D, sophisticated Big Data algorithms, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, SkyBreathe® assess flights' efficiency performance of airlines. After each flight, the software analyzes the millions of data available in Flight Data Recorders (black boxes) to provide with constructive feedback about the most efficient best practices that reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions.

The SkyBreathe solution is today installed on more than 26 airlines including Atlas Air, Cebu Pacific, Flydubai, Hop!, Icelandair, Royal Air Maroc, Transavia, Volotea, Wow and recently Malaysia Airlines.

"Thanks to our very early stage digital and Big Data approach, we have become leaders in the field of flight efficiency. Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning development will offer extraordinary benefits to airlines. Imagine how much we can help them achieve their mission by providing real-time information to pilots! We're very excited to accelerate this new project and to have the full confidence and support of our financial partners." Explains Alexandre Feray, CEO, and founder of OpenAirlines.

Fanny Picard, founder of Alter Equity said, " We are proud to support OpenAirlines, which has developed a software at the forefront of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Deep Learning technologies that contribute to environmental protection."

Already awarded by numerous prizes, OpenAirlines also won runner-up prize of the largest international clean-tech competition, the Cleantech Open, in Los Angeles on January 30, 2018.

Among OpenAirlines' latest news, Airbus company Navblue has announced last year their partnership with OpenAirlines to become a reseller for its solution SkyBreathe®.

About OpenAirlines www.openairlines.com
OpenAirlines was founded in Toulouse, France, in 2006 to meet the needs of airlines wishing to optimize their flight operations and to reduce costs. Leveraging a team of airline specialists, it offers innovative software solutions to save fuel (SkyBreathe®), manage crews (CrewIntelligence™ and CrewPad™) and fleet (OptiFleet™).

About Alter Equity^3P  www.alter-equity.com
Alter Equity3P is an early-growth fund committed to Sustainable Development. It supports activities and behaviors deeply respectful of nature and people's long term interests, while seeking an attractive return for its subscribers. This philosophy is symbolized by the 3P of its name, which stand for People Planet Profit. The fund invests amounts of €1 to 6 million  in French companies with a turnover of at least €1m, through minority or majority stakes.

It has achieved the largest fundraising in French Impact finance in 2015. Besides OpenAirlines, the fund has invested in eight companies : BoHo Green (organic make-up), Remade (recycling of iPhones), Ned Energie (retail of photovoltaic panels), Nino Robotics (two-wheeled electrical wheelchair for disabled people), Green Creative (depacking and connected food waste sorting), Eficia (energy efficiency solutions for buildings), Sports Etudes Academy (French leading school for high-level athletes) and InnovaFeed (insect meal production for aquaculture in substitution of wild fish meal).

About Bpifrance www.bpifrance.fr

Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, has the ambition to help businesses, ranging from start-ups to medium-sized companies, and occasionally large companies, to innovate, invest, grow and export. By sharing the risks with its private and public partners, Bpifrance provides a continuum of financing, from short-term credits to equity capital.

Legals 

Openairlines  

• legal:    DMS Avocats (Jérôme Werner)

Alter Equity 

• legal:    Viguié Schmidt & Associés A.A.R.P.I. (Louis Chenard, Lynda Lala Bouali)

Contacts
Alter Equity: Fanny Picard - tel: +33-1-42-86-96-41 - fanny.picard@alter-equity.com
Bpifrance: Nathalie Police - tel: +33-1-41-79-95-26 - nathalie.police@bpifrance.fr