Aircon Air Freight Inc., which calls itself a gateway-as-a-service for the air cargo industry, announced today that it has raised $3.3 million in new funding to invest in deeper partnerships, global gateway expansion and artificial intelligence tech infrastructure.

Founded in 2021, Aircon uses AI to identify opportunities across air freight shipments to maximize space and weight utilization and reduce costs. Its platform has been specifically designed to enable small and medium-sized forwarders to compete with larger companies in the air freight business.

The startup argues that the air freight market is lagging in digital transformation, even further behind than the rest of the supply chain industry. The industry is said to operate primarily through manual processes involving spreadsheets, phone calls and paper. Although there are strong advantages to digitization, forwarders are skipping the process because it requires detailed coordination, optimal cargo mix and physical gateway locations.

The company’s platform aims to transform the inefficient air cargo industry through consolidation. That approach takes on the problem of underutilized cargo space in the air cargo industry, enabling airlines to maximize their cargo loads and fill unused space, resulting in increased revenue and cost savings.

Aircon’s network of shared air freight gateways leverages AI and machine learning to consolidate cargo heading to the same destination while optimizing space on aircraft. Doing so enables forwarders to have access to consolidation options worldwide, creating operating efficiencies and improving margins.

It provides instant quotes and simplifies the air freight booking, monitoring and cost-cutting process. The company’s algorithms pool shipments that combine dense and voluminous cargo to achieve the master consolidation available while passing the “net effect” of savings back to the freight forwarder.

“Aircon was founded to allow forwarders of all sizes access to consolidation options worldwide with a unified goal toward giving the freight forwarders they partner with a competitive edge,” said founder and Chief Executive Chris Condon. “We are challenging the status quo of long-term dominance by large established players and offering small and medium-sized forwarders a seat at the table for the very first time.”

The $3.3 million seed funding round was led by Underscore Ventures LLC. Previous investors in the company include Plug and Play Tech Center LP and Schematic Ventures LLC.

Image: Aircon