ITA Software
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Travel |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Key people | Jeremy Wertheimer: President & CEO, Gianni Marostica: Chief Commercial Officer, Milt Alpern: Chief Financial Officer, Sundar Narasimhan: Chief Technology Officer |
| Products | Software |
| Owner | Google, Inc (Acquisition pending, 2010) |
Number of employees | 450+ |
| Website | www.itasoftware.com |
ITA Software is a travel industry software company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by computer scientists from the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in 1996. On July 1, 2010 ITA agreed to be acquired by Google. As of March 21, 2011 the acquisition is under review by the U.S. Department of Justice.
History
ITA's first product was an airfare search and pricing system called QPX. This system is now used by travel companies such as Orbitz, Bing Travel, Kayak.com, CheapTickets, and airlines such as American, United, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Alitalia, and ANA. ITA also hosts its own website based on QPX, although you cannot buy tickets from it.
ITA is known for using programming puzzles to attract and evaluate potential employees since 2001. Some of these puzzles have appeared in ads on Boston's MBTA subway system.
In January 2006, ITA received $100 million in venture capital money from a syndicate of 5 investment firms led by Battery Ventures, marking the largest investment in a software firm in New England in 5 years.[1]
In September 2006, ITA announced a several million dollar deal with Air Canada[2] to develop a new computer reservations system to power its reservations, inventory control, seat availability, check-in, and airport operations.[3] In August 2009, Air Canada announced that the project had been suspended.[4]
In July 2010, Google announced the acquisition of ITA for $700 million in cash, subject to DOJ review and approval.[5] In April 2011 the Justice Department allowed the purchase. >"Justice Dept. allows Google to buy online travel company". The Washington Post. Apr 8, 2011.</ref>
See also
- List of global distribution systems (computer reservation systems)
References
- ^ Howe, Peter (2006-01-23). "Software firm gets $100m in backing". The Boston Globe.
- ^ "ITA Software signs deal with Air Canada". The Boston Globe. 2006-09-12.
- ^ General Catalyst Partners :: News
- ^ "Air Canada suspends implementation of next-gen Polaris reservations system." ATW Daily News, Aug 12, 2009. http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=17518
- ^ "Facts about Google's acquisition of ITA Software". Google.com. Jul 1, 2010.
External links
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