ITA Software
Encyclopedia
ITA Software is a travel industry software company in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. The company was founded by computer scientists from the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology formed by the 2003 merger of the Laboratory for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory...

 in 1996. On July 1, 2010 ITA agreed to be acquired by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

. On April 8th, 2011 the US Department of Justice approved the buyout. As part of the agreement, Google must license ITA software to other websites for 5 years.

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
Orbitz
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in the Citigroup Center in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois. Through its primary web site Orbitz.com, Orbitz Worldwide enables travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products, facilitating 1.5 million flight...

, Bing Travel, Kayak.com
Kayak.com
KAYAK is a technology company providing online travel tools through its global family of websites and mobile applications. Started by cofounders of Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity, KAYAK allows users to compare information from hundreds of other travel websites in one display when booking travel...

, CheapTickets
CheapTickets
CheapTickets is an online travel services company focusing on the leisure market, offering airline tickets, hotel and Vacation rentals, rental cars, customized vacation packages, and cruises...

, and airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

s such as American
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

, United
United
-Travel:* United Airlines* United Automobile Services, a bus operator in England, now merged with the Arriva Group* United Bus, a bus manufacturing group-Sports:...

, US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....

, Virgin Atlantic, Alitalia
Alitalia
Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. , in its later stages known as Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. in Extraordinary Administration, was the former Italian flag carrier...

, and ANA
ANA
-Abbreviations:* AB Nyköpings Automobilfabrik* Administration for Native Americans, a program in the Administration for Children and Families* Afghan National Army* Agency for New Americans, a refugee organization in Boise, Idaho...

. 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
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

 money from a syndicate of 5 investment firms led by Battery Ventures
Battery Ventures
Battery Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests principally in technology markets including: Internet & Digital Media; Financial & Information Services; Cleantech; Software; Semiconductors & Components; Infrastructure Technologies; Communication Services; and Industrial Technologies.The...

, marking the largest investment in a software firm in New England in 5 years.

In September 2006, ITA announced a several million dollar deal with Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...

 to develop a new computer reservations system
Computer reservations system
A computer reservations system is a computerized system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel. Originally designed and operated by airlines, CRSes were later extended for the use of travel agencies...

 to power its reservations, inventory control, seat availability, check-in, and airport operations.
In August 2009, Air Canada announced that the project had been suspended.

In July 2010, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

 announced the acquisition of ITA for $700 million in cash, subject to DOJ review and approval. On April 8th 2011 the US Dept. of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

 and Google reached an agreement in terms to allow the purchase and dismiss a potential antitrust lawsuit.

External links

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