Co-founders of Belli Jeff Pan and Alexander Khor, are positioning themselves to disrupt the global air cargo industry, a sector responsible for transporting $6 trillion worth of goods annually, accounting for roughly 35% of world trade by value. With record growth reported by IATA in 2024, air cargo has emerged as a critical driver of profitable airline operations, fueled by strong e-commerce demand, ocean shipping restrictions, and limited capacity on key long-haul routes. Belli targets inefficiencies in a sector that, despite its high value, continues to rely heavily on paper-based processes and outdated systems.

Founded in March 2024, Belli AI combines Pan’s extensive travel and consulting experience, including work at Booking.com, Flymya, and McKinsey, with Khor’s background in molecular biology and product management at AirAsia Teleport. The company’s software aims to optimize airline cargo operations by providing next-generation digital tools for planning, load balancing, revenue management, and automation, effectively functioning as an operating system for cargo. Belli addresses one of the biggest challenges in the industry: legacy technology that is up to 15 years behind passenger systems, often fragmented and difficult to integrate with modern platforms.

Early adoption and growth for Belli were not without obstacles. Raising funding in the aviation tech space is notoriously difficult, with Pan and Khor facing 60 investor rejections before securing $500,000 in pre-seed funding from Iterative. Customer acquisition was similarly challenging, requiring a hands-on approach: attending conferences, presenting the value proposition directly, and persuading airlines to trust a new software solution. Within nine months, Belli reached breakeven and signed multiple airline clients, demonstrating the practical appeal of its system.

The startup also emphasizes the unique nature of its product and team. Unlike traditional software vendors, Belli blends operational knowledge with technical expertise, ensuring that solutions are informed by real-world cargo experience. This combination allows the company to tackle highly complex logistical challenges, such as maximizing weight and volume efficiency, dynamically adjusting loads, and automating previously manual tasks. Pan also highlights the strategic importance of cargo, noting that it generates significantly higher operating profit margins than passenger services, making it a lucrative area for technological innovation.

Beyond efficiency gains, Belli illustrates the human and operational scale of air cargo. Pan shares anecdotes ranging from transporting human remains and live animals, such as falcons and blue whales, to emergency shipments of mosquitoes for disease eradication. The company’s technology also helps airlines manage frequent supply chain disruptions and adapt to growing e-commerce trends, including rising shipments from platforms like Temu and Shein, as well as manufacturing relocations from China to Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Looking ahead, projections suggest continued global air cargo growth, with the market expected to expand from $300.93 billion in 2023 to $484.12 billion by 2031. Cargo traffic is anticipated to increase between four and five percent in 2025, supported by resilience in e-commerce and high-value shipments. Belli, with its innovative software and strong operational leadership, is strategically positioned to lead this digital transformation in the air cargo sector.

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