Buyout of Vision-Box would hand Amadeus key piece of travel process puzzle

Attracted by its border control services, Amadeus IT says it is buying Vision-Box for €320 million (US$347.6 million). The buyout is expected to be complete before July.

Vision-Box’s face biometrics hardware and software will enable digital services company Amadeus to perform “end-to-end seamless” identity services from travel booking to border control and boarding, according to the announcement.

Perhaps as important, company executives say their systems and services will integrate with disparate airports, border agencies and airlines.

Decius Valmorbida, President of Amadeus’ travel operations, said that Vision-Box’s product line “is deeply complementary” to Amadeus’ portfolio.

Vision-Box CEO Miguel Leitmann said the move will make it possible to “unite all separate players and systems in a single, digitally integrated and orchestrated ecosystem.”

Combined biometrics systems should increase traveler satisfaction, airline performance and infrastructure use, they say in a joint statement. Airline performance should benefit from more-efficient boarding, which is expected to make departure times more reliable.

Juniper Research has forecast the market for airport biometric gates alone to grow from an estimated $207 million in 2023 to $490 million in 2027.

The growth will result from the travel industry’s increased focus on digitalization of service. The industry’s also trying to efficiently offset evolving operational pressures and meet regulatory demands.

The acquisition is somewhat reminiscent of Pangiam’s acquisition of facial recognition developer TrueFace in 2021 to expand its travel technology portfolio.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  airports  |  Amadeus  |  biometrics  |  Vision-Box