IAGi Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
IAGi Ventures is the corporate venture arm of International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Iberia Express, LEVEL, Vueling, IAG Cargo, and IAG Loyalty. Rebranded from the group's earlier "Hangar 51" innovation program, IAGi now operates as a structured innovation platform with four tracks: an Accelerator (Deploy Track and Discover Track), and Ventures, the direct-investment arm. IAGi Ventures backs early-stage companies building "big, game-changing innovations that add significant customer value or operational efficiency" across aviation. The unit explicitly frames itself as a strategic rather than purely financial investor, offering portfolio companies access to IAG's airline customer relationships, operational testbeds, and industry expertise alongside capital.
Stage Focus
IAGi Ventures targets Seed through Series B, with flexibility for exceptional teams outside that band. The separate Accelerator programs (Deploy Track, Discover Track) work with earlier, pre-investment stage startups on proof-of-concept and pilot deployments across IAG's airline operating companies, which frequently become a pipeline into Ventures-stage capital.
Check Size
No fixed check size is published. IAG announced in March 2025 that it would invest up to €200 million (roughly $215-216M) through IAGi Ventures over five years, positioned as one of the largest corporate venture commitments of its kind and the largest by a European airline group. Individual round sizes seen in disclosed deals range from strategic participation in a £14M ($19M) Series B (Ampaire) to larger multi-investor rounds (Verve Motion, >$55M raised across all investors).
Lead Tendency
Mixed. IAGi Ventures states a preference for co-investing alongside venture capital funds and other strategic partners, but will occasionally lead or co-lead rounds where strategic partnership value is high. Disclosed deals (Ampaire, Verve Motion, Wastefront) show IAG participating alongside other institutional and strategic investors rather than solo-leading.
Recent Activity
IAGi Ventures has been active through 2025 and into 2026:
- August 2026: Participated in Ampaire's £14M ($19M) Series B for hybrid-electric aircraft APU technology, alongside DiamondStream Partners and Alaska Airlines.
- July 2026: Strategic investment in Verve Motion, a Harvard-spinout wearable robotics company building exosuits, to pilot aviation-specific exosuits for baggage handlers.
- March 2026: The IAGi Accelerator marked its 10th anniversary, opening applications for the 2026 cohort.
- January 2025: Strategic investment in Wastefront, a tyre-to-sustainable-aviation-fuel (SAF) company, supporting its Sunderland, UK processing facility.
- March 2025: Formal launch of IAGi Ventures with the €200M five-year investment mandate.
Portfolio Highlights
Across the Accelerator and Ventures programs, IAGi has engaged with 75+ start-up solutions and made roughly 10+ direct investments over 8+ years of start-up partnerships. Notable companies include:
- All.Space - satellite/cellular connectivity terminals
- Assaia - computer-vision-based airside/turnaround operations
- Freightos - freight booking and payments infrastructure
- LanzaJet - sustainable aviation fuel (alcohol-to-jet)
- Nova Pangaea and OXCCU - SAF production from agricultural residues and carbon capture respectively
- Wastefront - SAF from end-of-life tyres
- ZeroAvia - hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrains
- Spotnana - travel industry infrastructure platform
- Zamna - automated travel document verification
- Volantio - airline revenue and capacity optimization
- SeatBoost - seat upgrade auction platform
- Verve Motion and Ampaire - most recent 2026 strategic investments (wearable robotics; hybrid-electric aviation)
- AISmartPlan and Geofund - accelerator graduates now in commercial agreements with Aer Lingus
Team
IAGi's innovation and ventures function is run by a dedicated internal team at IAG:
- Ignacio Tovar - Director of Innovation, IAG
- Harvey Tate - Head of Airport Innovation, IAG
- Farah Ereiqat - Ventures Principal, IAG
- Nisha Basson-Mugnier - Innovation Principal, IAG
- Jose Serrano - Innovation Principal, IAG
- Javier Hidalgo Bravo - AI and Innovation Portfolio Manager, IAG
- Martin Thomas - AI and Innovation Portfolio Manager, IAG
Investment decisions sit within IAG's corporate structure, sponsored at the executive level by Jorge Saco, Chief Information, Procurement, Services and Innovation Officer at IAG, who publicly champions the Ventures mandate.
Decision Process
As a corporate venture unit embedded inside a public airline group holding company, IAGi Ventures operates with an internal principal/portfolio-manager team that screens and manages deals, with executive sponsorship from IAG's C-suite. This points toward a structured, committee-style process rather than a solo-GP or classic partnership model, though the exact governance mechanics are not disclosed publicly.
Founder Preferences
IAGi favors technical teams building deep-tech and infrastructure solutions with a clear, testable link to airline operations: fuel/emissions (SAF, hydrogen, hybrid-electric propulsion), airport and turnaround operations (computer vision, robotics, automation), passenger/customer experience (travel infrastructure, document verification, revenue optimization), and connectivity/IoT. Because portfolio companies are expected to pilot with IAG's operating airlines, founders comfortable with airline operational environments and enterprise sales cycles are a strong fit.
Geographic Focus
Despite being headquartered in Europe (IAG itself is UK/Spain-based, dual-listed in London and Madrid), IAGi Ventures invests globally - its disclosed portfolio spans the UK, continental Europe, and the US.