American Express on Tuesday announced the acquisition of virtual travel assistant Mezi for an undisclosed amount in a press statement.
Mezi helps passengers with hotel reservation and booking tickets for trips while offering recommendations. Founded in 2015 by Swapnil and Snehal Shinde, the artificial intelligence-based platform has messaging-based interface that forwards passengers’ request for bookings to human executives.
“Mezi’s AI-powered experience opens up exciting new ways for us to connect with and serve our Card Members and creates opportunities for us to build more meaningful relationships with them,” said Phil Norman, Vice-President of American Express Digital Labs.
Mezi will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the financial giant, with the co-founders reporting to Phil Norman.
“With messaging emerging as channel of choice for many, and the demand for unique experiences increasing, we believe the combination of Mezi’s capabilities with our global network of expert travel counselors creates a differentiated, high-touch service experience for our Card Members.”
Having started off as AI-based assistant, Mezi’s founders turned to focus exclusively on travel industry since November 2016. In the latest Series A funding round led by American Express, Mezi had raised $9 million in July 2016, according to Crunchbase .