Abingdon has acquired RateNow, a Barcelona-based leader in continuous point-of-service experience measurement hardware and software across aviation, healthcare, and other industries. The acquisition is intended to support RateNow’s international expansion while accelerating the use of artificial intelligence to convert millions of individual feedback points into real-time, actionable intelligence. The combined organization will focus on turning experience data into operational improvements for clients across airports, seaports, and healthcare facilities.
Aviation Footprint and Market Scale
Founded in 2014, RateNow runs passenger experience programs across more than 40 European airports, including AENA, Spain’s airport operator, where the company supports passenger experience measurement across 34 airports. The platform captures more than 4 million responses per month through a network of smiley feedback terminals and digital channels that span the entire passenger journey, alongside operations at Spanish seaports. This established deployment base gives RateNow a strong foundation for international growth and wider commercial adoption across additional regulated environments.
Healthcare Adoption and Validated Measurement
In healthcare, RateNow supports more than 150 organizations covering over 30% of Spanish hospitals and co-developed Spain’s first validated Patient-Reported Experience Measures with Vall d’Hebron Hospital. To meet strict medical privacy standards, the company provides a privacy-first AI solution that analyzes open-ended patient feedback within secure hospital environments. This design supports data sovereignty and patient confidentiality while enabling providers to extract meaningful insights from unstructured patient comments.
AI Roadmap and International Expansion
Building on this foundation, RateNow and Abingdon plan to accelerate the application of AI across the wider platform to help customers identify trends and understand the drivers behind feedback. The companies intend to enhance product capabilities that convert individual responses into prioritized actions for airport and healthcare operators. Abingdon’s dedicated Applied AI team will work alongside RateNow to develop new analytics features while preserving the trust that customers require in regulated, high-security environments.
Operational Continuity and Leadership
RateNow will retain its name, Spanish legal and operating structure, and Barcelona headquarters following the acquisition. Albert Esplugas will continue as CEO, and Guillermo Sánchez will continue as COO, while existing contracts, pricing, account contacts, hardware devices, and system integrations remain unchanged. This continuity is intended to reassure current airport and healthcare customers, support the company’s global scaling, and enable continued investment in product development and AI capabilities.
Executive Commentary
Albert Esplugas, CEO and co-founder of RateNow, said the company spent 12 years scaling its Barcelona team and building a best-in-class product. He described Abingdon’s operational engagement, shared product vision, and Applied AI team as the ideal fit for global expansion. Mario Bortolozzo, Head of Corporate Development at Abingdon, said RateNow has mastered the difficult groundwork of securing hardware and software deployments in high-stakes environments like airports and healthcare facilities.
The acquisition positions RateNow to extend its international reach while maintaining the operational stability its airport and healthcare clients depend on. Abingdon’s strategic support is expected to accelerate AI-driven experience analytics and help customers act on feedback more quickly. The transaction highlights the growing role of AI-enabled experience measurement in regulated, high-traffic environments where data privacy, trust, and real-time insight are equally important.