CellPoint launches AI-decision platform under new leadership

Firm also secured £25.4 million (US $34M) in investment

Payment orchestration firm, CellPoint, has revealed a whole host of new announcements, including the launch of Zenith, its AI decisioning platform for airline and hospitality payments.

Zenith is an AI decisioning layer that sits above any payment orchestrator - CellPoint's own or a third party's - turning payment data into automated commercial decisions and arlines and hotels can adopt Zenith without replacing existing payment stacks.

It also secured over £25 million in investment from Toscafund, managed by its PE affiliate Penta Capital. 

The Toscafund investment also funds 50 new roles in product, data, AI, sales and partnerships across Europe, the Americas and Asia, and a strengthened executive team including Patrick Uckermark as Chief Product and Technology Officer, leading the AI and data roadmap.

To the backdrop of all these changes, Penta Capital has appointed Kevin Murphy as group CEO and Michael Kelly as Chairman. 

Their brief is to "transform" CellPoint and build the AI-led payments platform in the core markets of Airlines & Hospitality.

"Payments are one of the largest controllable cost and revenue lines in an airline or hotel P&L, and one of the least well managed," said Kevin Murphy, group CEO. 

"Our job is to change that. Zenith uses AI to raise approval rates, cut cost of payments, recover lost revenue and give CFOs a live view of what their payment stack is actually doing. The $34m investment lets us build it at pace."

"CellPoint has the data, the customers and the technology to lead this category, we have been given a clear mandate: focus the company, invest in AI, and deliver measurable financial impact for our airline and hospitality customers. Zenith is how we do it.".

Steven Scott, managing partner at Penta Capital, added: "We backed the team and the plan. Kevin and Michael have the experience to transform CellPoint and the discipline to turn AI into measurable financial results for airlines and hotels. 

"Zenith is a genuinely differentiated position in a category that matters. Our US$34m reflects our confidence in that outcome."