American Express Global Business Travel has joined Plug and Play’s Travel & Hospitality accelerator programme as an anchor member for 2026, in a move designed to strengthen its access to emerging technologies and startup innovation across the business travel sector.
The partnership will connect Amex GBT with startups and scale-ups developing new technologies for travel, expense, and meetings and events, creating opportunities to pilot new solutions and bring innovation to its global customer base.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play operates one of the world’s largest startup accelerator and open innovation platforms, with a network of more than 100,000 startups across over 60 countries.
As part of the programme, Amex GBT will help shape the strategic direction of the Travel & Hospitality accelerator, including providing input on the startups and technologies selected for the initiative.
The collaboration will also give the travel management company access to pre-screened startups from across the wider Plug and Play ecosystem, both within travel and adjacent sectors, as it looks to explore new technologies and address evolving business challenges.
Erica Antony, VP, Complete & Select Solutions at Amex GBT, said the initiative would help accelerate innovation across the business.
“Startups bring fresh perspectives, bold ideas, and the agility to challenge how we think. By collaborating with emerging innovators through accelerators like Plug and Play, we gain access to breakthrough technologies and diverse thinking that push us to innovate faster, while helping these startups grow. We’re excited to collaborate with the next generation of travel innovators to learn, test new approaches and bring the best ideas to our customers.”
Amir Amidi, managing partner at Plug and Play, added: “Amex GBT’s commitment to innovation and deep customer relationships across a variety of sectors make them an ideal member for our Travel & Hospitality programme.
“We look forward to connecting their teams with strategically aligned technologies to solve for the business travel industry’s unique challenges and drive innovation through connection.”