American enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) provider NLX raised $12 million in Series A funding for operational expansion and development efforts. JetBlue's venture capital division, JetBlue Ventures, contributed to the funding round. Meanwhile, United Airlines and Copa Airlines have worked with NLX to incorporate AI into their operations. 

NLX and Aviation

NLX uses generative AI, cloud software, and conversational AI technology to help companies provide exceptional customer service. Airlines use the firm's technology to allow passengers to conduct certain tasks at their own pace instead of waiting for a representative. Passengers can use various voice, chat, and synchronized multichannel mediums.

NLX's products can be used by airlines for the following tasks:

• Gate or flight schedule change
• Staff schedule update
• Changing or upgrading seats
• Wheelchair requests
• Checking in for flights
• Managing bookings
• Finding lost baggage
• Checking travel advisories and destination travel restrictions

Andrei Papancea, NLX's CEO and Chief Product Officer, said about the Series A round:

"AI is transforming the customer service journey for brands and it is essential that every touchpoint in that journey feels personalized to the consumer and exceeds their expectations – while also grounded in practicality. This milestone speaks to NLX's success in helping some of the most well-known global brands deliver world-class customer experiences at scale. We are excited to continue our growth and development with this latest round of capital which will fuel NLX's market expansion, strategic hires, and even more market-defining capabilities, like our patented multimodal technology." 

Cercano led the funding round alongside Thayer Ventures and HL Ventures. JetBlue Ventures was one of the company's initial investors when it raised $4.6 million in Series Seed II funding in January 2023. IAG Capital Partners and Tech Square Ventures' Engage were the other firms involved.

Ryan Chou, JetBlue Ventures' Managing Director of Investments, said about the funding round:

"NLX continues to empower companies by enabling them to provide customers with a seamless end-to-end self-service experience. This not only delights customers but also helps in managing substantial fluctuations in call center demands. We are proud of the innovative strides being made by NLX, and are excited to see what they have in store for enhancing customer experiences in the future." 

United Airlines and Copa Airlines

NLX has a global footprint and products in 90 countries and over 65 languages. This international presence works well with companies in the travel and hospitality space that serve a global audience. NLX's customers include airlines, hotels, airports, travel agencies, and restaurants. United Airlines and Copa Airlines are two specific aviation customers.

NLX started working with Panama's flag carrier, Copa Airlines, after the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline originally used email to communicate flight disruptions with its passengers. However, flight disruptions increased by 4,900% from 1,000 to over 50,000 monthly disruptions during the pandemic. Copa Airlines now uses Conversations by NLX to inform over 50,000 passengers about flight changes in less than ten minutes and inform crew members of flight disruptions.

Irene Pascal, Copa Airlines' IT Manager for Commercial Solutions, said about NLX's solutions:

"This was all done just with a simple few clicks on the platform, no coding. We were very very surprised by how easy it was to set up."

United Airlines announced a collaboration with NLX at an event in Las Vegas in June 2022. The carrier aims to leverage NLX's technology to assist passengers more quickly than human customer service representatives can. United plans to restructure its operations to allow humans to address more complex needs while AI handles "repetitive" tasks. The tasks that can be automated include checking if a flight is on time and redirecting customers with certain questions to the airline's website. 

Rachel Walker, United Airlines' Director/MD Innovation and Solutions for Customer Contact Centers, said at the event:

"We're really excited to be partnering with NLX and testing and experimenting with this multimodal piece. We feel like we found some really interesting segments of our population of travelers who are very technically engaged, and feel like they're first adopters. But when it comes to travel, they get a little nervous and they want someone to hold their hand. And that's where you can use this ability for someone to use a voice AI bot with something physical in front of them to walk them through step by step on how to do things." 

Future Plans

NLX will use the funding to enhance how AI serves customers across several industries. Its products help solve the common passenger pain point of long wait times when contacting customer service. The ability of passengers to solve some problems themselves will also reduce the burden on human customer service agents. JetBlue Ventures, a firm that invests exclusively in early-stage startups revolutionizing travel and hospitality, sees the potential for NLX's technology to improve airline operations and the passenger experience.