Ryan Chou, managing director - investments at JetBlue Ventures, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2025.
Ryan Chou’s experience spanned the venturing ecosystem from startup to VC, before landing at his present role at JetBlue Ventures in 2019. His move there sprang from a strong desire to provide value to startups.
Chou enjoys being able to work closely with startups, including acting as a board observer for several of JetBlue’s portfolio companies. He is able to provide startups with both industry knowledge in aviation and strategic insights through his startup experience.
He is excited by the investment opportunities, which have ranged from travel, cybersecurity, conversational AI, sustainability, to hybrid electric aircraft and sustainable aviation fuel.
“He is able to provide startups with both industry knowledge in aviation and strategic insights through his startup experience”
Several of his portfolio companies have also exited. TurnKey Vacation Rentals, operator of a full-service rental property management platform was acquired by Vacasa in 2021, while Transparent, the Spain-based provider of data for short-term rentals, was acquired in 2022 by OTA Insight (Now Lighthouse).
Founded in 2016, JetBlue Ventures has made 56 investments to date. Typical cheque sizes range from $1m to $3m and the preferred stage is between seed and series B. Its investment areas are focused around JetBlue’s mission to improve the end-to-end experience for travellers and include customer journeys, next-generation operations, enterprise technologies, loyalty distribution and revenue and sustainability.
For Chou, the biggest challenge lies in “getting through the noise of what is real and what is not”, especially when it comes to AI. JetBlue Ventures was an early investor in the space and the team must now concentrate on cutting through the hype and identifying the companies that can generate revenue.
Chou urges newcomers to the corporate venturing space to do their due diligence and maintain an open view. A CVC affords the opportunity to “learn venture and learn from a corporate” – a unique combination.
See the full list of Emerging Leaders 2025 here.
