The venture capital arm of United Airlines has launched a new strategic relationship with loyalty commerce company Dfinitiv.
United Airlines Ventures, which invests in companies creating innovative air travel technologies, has acquired an equity stake in Dfinitiv. The airline said it will explore future use cases for Dfinitiv’s loyalty commerce and media integration technology across the airline’s Mileage Plus loyalty platform.
Specifically, Dfinitiv has a product called SmartCXP, which is a commerce experience platform that would allow United to offer MileagePlus customers personalized, shoppable content and offers. Dfinitiv also uses a proprietary deep-linking engine called SmartLink that merges user intent with optimized on-screen experiences. United plans to test both technologies, with the hope of “empowering loyalty members to engage in everyday commerce and seamlessly earn and redeem loyalty points.”
Dfinitiv’s platforms are not only built for the travel industry, but they can also be applied to businesses in other sectors. The airline says it will also test Dfinitiv technology on its in-house media brand Kinective.
"United Airlines Ventures values innovative companies that can enhance the customer travel experience and help airlines unlock new opportunities for growth," said Andrew Chang, head of United Airlines Ventures. "We look for differentiated technologies, thoughtful user experience design, and strong management teams that can scale. We believe Dfinitiv checks every box — and the versatility of their platform across multiple industries, including loyalty programs like MileagePlus, financial services, connected media platforms like Kinective Media, and travel only enhances potential revenue streams."
In addition to the new partnership with Dfinitiv, United Airlines Ventures has also made investments in a sustainable aviation fuel company and 100 futuristic blended-wing body aircraft from innovative plane maker JetZero.
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