Cloudcards Secures €1.4 Million in Funding and Doubles Headcount

Irish aviation software company, Cloudcards, has successfully completed a major equity funding round, raising €1.4 million.

The investment will support the Limerick-headquartered company’s expanding operations, as it doubles its headcount from 10 to 20 employees and further develops its product offering. The capital injection brings to €5 million the total raised by the company since 2016.

Established 10 years years ago, Cloudcards currently manages circa €8 billion worth of client assets across its software platform and forecasts this number to exceed €30 billion within the next five years.

It offers a range of unique software solutions for aircraft owners, including Cloud Asset Management that allows lessors manage all aspects of the asset from legal, financial and technical and a cloud-based project management tool, CARDS. In addition to software solutions, Cloudcards provides technical services to airlines and lessors.

Notable customers include international aircraft lessors Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), Avmax, World Star Aviation and CMIG Aviation as well as Irish-operated lessors SMBC Aviation Capital, Formidion Aviation, and BBAM.

Founded by the two Limerick brothers in 2013, Barry and Brian Fitzgerald, the company is led by CEO Bill Blake, with Barry Fitzgerald heading the Product, IT, and innovation division. The team’s extensive knowledge and expertise totals over 50 years of experience in aviation.

“This recent investment ensures that Cloudcards remains at the forefront of the aviation software solutions market,” said Bill Blake, CEO of Cloudcards.

“Our focus will be on strengthening the software development  team as well as evolving our product roadmap to deliver a comprehensive aviation platform for aircraft owners to cover all essential software requirements for managing aviation assets.”

“With Microsoft Azure as the foundation for all Cloudcard software products, Cloudcards has a clear vision of its future product roadmap.  Over the coming 18 months, Cloudcards will bring to life the concept of a ‘One Aviation Platform” software ecosystem, we aim to address all customer and industry requirements across the asset lifecycle, from asset purchase to retirement or sale,” said Blake.

Cloudcards’ head office is located in Limerick, with team members working across Ireland. It also collaborates with a global network of aviation engineers and consultants to address specific client requirements.

“We pride ourselves on the ability to be able to rapidly customise products to meet the individual needs of customers, while maintaining a dynamic and flexible company culture. Our trusted long-standing partnerships attest to Cloudcards’ reputation and credibility within the aviation industry,” added Blake.

Approximately 55% of the world’s commercial aircraft are leased with the vast majority either owned or managed by Irish entities, equating to 13,000 aircraft.  The aircraft leasing market contributes circa €1 billion to the Irish economy and employs 10,000 people.

Cloudcards partnered with Focus Capital Partners for corporate finance support, while Flynn O’Driscoll handled all legal aspects of the transaction.

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