Amadeus has acquired SkyLink, an AI-powered corporate travel booking platform, in a move that underscores the race among travel technology giants to bring conversational automation into mainstream business travel. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in New York, SkyLink developed an AI-native orchestration engine designed to sit directly within enterprise chat systems such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. Through natural language text or voice interactions, the platform enables employees and travel arrangers to book and service policy-compliant trips quickly and efficiently.
Tens of thousands of bookings have already been processed through the system, signaling growing adoption as the industry moves from AI experimentation to real-world deployment.
For Amadeus, the acquisition strengthens its corporate travel portfolio, particularly in North America, where SkyLink has built a strong reputation among travel management companies. The company said it plans to integrate SkyLink’s conversational technology into its existing tools, supporting smarter, faster and more automated booking workflows for business travelers.
From Proof of Concept to Scaled Adoption
The deal reflects a broader shift in the travel industry as AI transitions from pilot projects to embedded operational use cases. Amadeus positions itself as a neutral execution layer for travel, operating across more than 190 markets and processing billions of search requests and millions of transactions daily. By adding SkyLink’s conversational framework to its infrastructure, Amadeus aims to apply AI consistently across airlines, airports, hotels and travel sellers.
Executives argue that combining SkyLink’s AI-native design with Amadeus’ global scale and integrated business logic will allow the technology to be deployed more rapidly and at greater volume. The goal is not simply to create chat-based booking tools, but to embed AI in production environments where reliability, data integrity and policy compliance are critical.
The corporate travel segment is a natural entry point. Business travel programs require strict adherence to company policies, negotiated rates and reporting requirements, making automation particularly valuable. Conversational interfaces embedded in workplace tools reduce friction by eliminating the need for employees to switch between multiple systems.
Competitive AI Momentum
Amadeus is not alone in pushing aggressively into AI. Rival Sabre recently invested in BizTrip AI, another startup focused on conversational assistants for business travelers. Both companies argue that their transaction layers and content integrations provide the foundational infrastructure AI systems require to shop, price and service travel at scale.
Over the past two years, Amadeus has made several strategic acquisitions, including biometrics specialist Vision-Box, payments company Voxel and travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys. The SkyLink deal adds conversational automation to that expanding portfolio.
Looking ahead, Amadeus plans to extend AI-driven conversational capabilities beyond corporate travel into airlines, airports and hospitality environments. The vision is to support travelers before, during and after their journeys through digital companions that combine real-time data with operational resilience.
As travel technology platforms compete to define the next phase of AI adoption, the focus is shifting from novelty to measurable value. With the acquisition of SkyLink, Amadeus is betting that deeply integrated infrastructure, paired with conversational AI, will be central to the future of business travel management.
