WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thayer Ventures,
the only venture capital firm focused specifically on technology
innovation in travel and transportation, brought together
C-Suite leaders, investors, technology innovators, and policymakers
for a daylong focus on the new landscape for industry operations
and innovation – including challenges presented by a dramatically
transformed labor force, the new science addressing the spread of
COVID, the rise of autonomous mobility and new urban planning, and
the adoption of digitized platform solutions to address hotel
operations. Attendees included more than 150 thought leaders
and practitioners from the industry's leading brands, investment
firms, and disruptive startup companies.
Anthony Capuano, Chief Executive
Officer at Marriott International, keynoted the
conference and said, "The Thayer Ventures gathering is a unique
moment for connecting the industry's leading innovators,
disruptors, and decision-makers to discuss the future of
hospitality, travel, transportation, and technology. We are proud
to support Thayer's work as a co-investor and a partner in
forward-looking innovation to address the industry's most pressing
technology needs and priorities."
Presentations and sessions at the meeting included:
- Introduction & Context – Lee
Pillsbury, Managing Director, Thayer Ventures;Alex Dichter
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
- COVID Update – Dr. Clare
Rock, Infectious Diseases Physician and Epidemiologist,
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases,
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- Capital Markets: Impacts, Trends, Predictions –
Dick Rippe, Managing Director and
Economist, Evercore ISI
- What Lies Ahead: Fireside Chat with Anthony Capuano, CEO, Marriott International
- SPAC Path, Public to Private: Fireside Chat with
Inspirato – Brent Handler,
Founder & CEO, Inspirato
- Platform Strategy for the Future – Melanie Ryan Meador, CEO & President,
Redeam, Andrada Paraschiv, Vice
President – Hospitality, Beekeeper, Ryan
Ruth, Director of Digital Travel Trade & eCommerce,
Disney Parks Experience & Products, Richard Valtr, Founder, Mews
- Innovations in Hospitality Delivery – Rami Zeidan, Founder and CEO, Lifehouse
- The Future of Autonomy, 2021 and Beyond – Nina Grooms Lee, Chief Product Officer,
May Mobility, Inc.
- The Road Ahead: The Future of Technology
Regulation - featuring Dr. R. David Edelman, former Special Assistant to
President Obama, Computer Science & AI Lab and Director,
MIT, Director, Thayer Ventures
Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: TVAC), and Michael Huerta, former FAA Administrator,
Founder MPH Consulting
Future of Innovation
Thayer Ventures Managing Director Chris
Hemmeter said, "It's become clear that the current period of
global change and dislocation, precipitated by the COVID-19
environment and unprecedented shifts in the workplace, labor
market, and supply chain, have become catalytic for the pace of
innovation - highlighting and further underscoring Thayer Ventures'
long-term investment thesis. Disruptions across the
value-chain, combined with shifting consumer behavior patterns,
have accelerated the displacement of long-term incumbent technology
providers, pushing the adoption of more flexible models across
industries."
He concluded: "In the current environment, many of the
industry's leading brands have become partners and co-investors
with Thayer Ventures, and we're proud to have brought them face to
face with the disruptors who are pushing the boundaries of
innovation. Thanks to everyone who participated in today's
discussion, including Thayer Ventures portfolio companies who are
driving the future of innovation in travel and transportation."
Thayer Ventures portfolio companies in attendance included
Adara, Beekeeper, BookingPal, Canary Technologies, Groupize,
Hyperloop Inc., ID90 Travel, Lifehouse, May Mobility, Mews, Migo,
Optii, Redeam Inc., Robotic Skies, Sonder, Sprockets, Swiftmile,
Traxo, TRIPBAM, and Uplift.
In line with its sole focus on travel and transportation
technologies, Thayer Ventures supports its capital investments with
a uniquely deep network of decision-makers to help capture
proprietary deal flow, offer portfolio companies unmatched tactical
and strategic value, and drive investor returns. Many of its
early-stage investments have been the beneficiaries of this
approach and have either engineered profitable exits or built
sustainable businesses that position them for continued growth and
market leadership.
Mark Farrell, Managing Partner at
Thayer Ventures, concluded: "Today's participants, from the worlds
of travel as well as transportation and mobility, pointed the way
toward a future of continuing and accelerating disruption and
change. From the urban grid to the way people move, work and
congregate, no area of human life will be untouched by the
technology innovations that are shaping the texture of life as we
push further into the twenty-first century."
About Thayer Ventures
San Francisco-based Thayer
Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with a strategic
focus on technology within the global travel and transportation
industry. Thayer prioritizes early-stage b2b companies, but
selectively looks at seed and later stage deals with selective b2c
activity. Currently, Thayer Ventures manages four active investment
vehicles with over $100 million in
capital and over 20 active portfolio companies.
Contact: Michael Frenkel
for Thayer Ventures
michael@mfcpr.com
(201) 317-7035
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SOURCE Thayer Ventures