Research from Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH) finds that airline investment in startups has hit a five-year low.
Airlines completed 31 innovation deals in 2025, down from 39 in 2024 and well below the 2018 peak of 49 deals. Furthermore, only 7 airlines were responsible for 2025’s startup activity, compared to 11 in 2025. LIH analysis confirms that only 7% of IATA-registered airlines have ever invested in startups, prompting them to comment:
For the vast majority of airlines, startup investing is not a strategic tool. It’s something other industries do.
Data shows 2025 was the year corporate venturing hit an all-time high. Over 3,000 companies worldwide are now investing in startups, making airlines’ limited activity in this area especially notable.
United Airlines led the pack in 2025, signing 10 startup investment deals. International Airlines Group (IAG) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) also invested in 7 startups each. LIH note that the share of investment in APAC is growing year-on-year, propelled by the ANA Frontier Fund, launched in 2024, and IndiGo Ventures, the first airline innovation arm based in India that closed a US$52 million fund last year.
Aviation’s cautious nature is not only highlighted by the limited number of airlines investing: of those investments, the majority are increasingly heading to later-stage companies as airlines try to mitigate risk. LIH found that in 2025 mature startups received 65% of airline investment, a significant rise from the 41% recorded in 2023.
JetBlue, one of the earliest airlines to fund startups, sold its venturing arm, JetBlue Ventures, to SKY Leasing in May 2025 to focus on core airline operations. This demonstrates how even successful funds are at risk when airlines remain focused on near-term profitability.
LIH suggests this mindset could be detrimental to aviation’s performance in the long run. They conclude:
A few selected airlines are still investing, but they’re doing so cautiously, selectively, and increasingly late. That approach may reduce risk in the short term. But it also raises an important question: are airlines still positioning themselves close enough to the next wave of disruption?
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