Safir Monroe UnDelay is the story of a Howard University mechanical engineer who took a job writing software at Delta Air Lines, saw how outdated many airport systems were and started a company at age 22 to replace them. Monroe is the founder and CEO of UnDelay, an Atlanta startup that sells AI-powered software to airports, including a virtual taxi queue that replaces holding lots and manual fee payments, and a wayfinding tool that helps travelers find gates and facilities. Public coverage lists Tulsa International, Columbia Metropolitan and Asheville Regional among its users, and Monroe was named to the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
This guide to Safir Monroe UnDelay covers the founder’s background, how the company evolved from flight-delay analytics to airport operations software, how the main products work, the grants and funding that are public, and the lessons other founders can take from it. One note on sourcing: UnDelay’s own website blocks automated access, so the details below come from third-party coverage, the company’s LinkedIn page and interviews, and many items date from 2022 to 2024. Where a number is company-reported or sources differ, we say so.
Safir Monroe UnDelay: Who Is the Founder?
Safir Monroe is the founder and CEO of UnDelay. His Forbes profile describes him as a Howard University engineering graduate who started UnDelay in 2018 while working as a software engineer at Delta Air Lines, and Dealroom’s company summary gives the same account. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reporting on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, says Monroe was just 22 when he started the company and 28 when he was named to the list.
What stands out about the Safir Monroe UnDelay story is how specific the target is. He did not set out to build a general travel app. He built software for the people who run airports: the operations teams, ground transportation managers and dispatchers who deal with the daily mechanics of moving people and vehicles. The company’s LinkedIn page describes its mission as building software to improve airport operations and replace legacy taxi queue and wayfinding systems.
From Howard University to Delta Air Lines
Monroe’s path began with engineering. Hypepotamus reports that he is a mechanical engineering graduate from Howard University who became interested in aviation while working as a developer at Delta Air Lines and through hackathons at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta Business Radio describes him as having worked for Delta for several years, and he says his own background spans software engineering and hardware.
The Delta job gave him a view few outsiders get. The AJC reports that he saw firsthand how antiquated many of the software systems airports depend on are, and recalls him asking “why is everything broken” in the interview. That curiosity became the company’s starting point.
For the Safir Monroe UnDelay story, the combination of a hardware-minded engineering degree and real airline experience matters. Aviation is a conservative, safety-driven industry with long procurement cycles, and founders who have worked inside it understand its language and its constraints.
The Problem: Delays, Handoffs and Legacy Systems
UnDelay began with delays. Airport Technology explains that the idea came from a situation Monroe encountered at Delta: operational information passed through many hands. In a typical chain, one conversation might be relayed four, five or even six times, because the people involved communicate through one channel at a time. UnDelay’s early technology analyzed the first, original communication, transcribed it and distributed it to multiple channels.
Hypepotamus describes the early product similarly: mobile and web applications that give real-time insight into the causes of flight disruptions by analyzing transcriptions from pilots, ground operators and air traffic controllers in one place. The company was building APIs, dashboards and text alert systems to help airlines and airports understand what is going on in real time.
The scale of the problem is large. Hypepotamus notes that thousands of flights are canceled each day in the United States and that about half of delay issues are tied to operational, maintenance or inspection problems, not weather. The Safir Monroe UnDelay founding thesis is that better information flow reduces confusion and cost.
Building the Product: Mobile App, Web App, Then API
Monroe built in stages. In an Atlanta Startup Podcast interview, he said his first MVP was a mobile app, used to get people to download it, give feedback and explain the industry. The second was a web application, and the third was the main API, built around AI predictions. He also described working with airports and gathering early traction and sign-ups.
That sequence is typical of founders who start without a customer. Instead of building a full enterprise system, he used simple products to learn what people in aviation wanted. In the same interview, he named his proudest achievement as winning the Young Founders Pitch Competition sponsored by Cash App at AfroTech, which came with a grant of about $25,000.
Early validation mattered because aviation buyers are cautious. The Safir Monroe UnDelay approach was to learn from users, show potential customers what the data could do and build trust before asking for large contracts. Atlanta Business Radio recounts how he showed airport executives and TSA managers the business rules and real-time feeds the technology could support.
Surviving COVID and Finding a Focus
The pandemic hit the company’s customers hard. Hypepotamus reports that UnDelay took a hit at the height of COVID as aviation customers dealt with budget cuts and streamlined operations. Monroe said the downturn gave the team time to hone in and focus on building the product, and that once the industry picked back up, constant flight cancellations created more need to integrate and optimize airport systems.
That period appears to have shaped the company’s direction. Early on, it focused on flight-delay information. By the time of the Forbes profile, the company was best known for ground operations software, and the AJC describes its 2018 mission as helping airports streamline operations with external taxi services. Different outlets describe the focus differently, which suggests the product shifted from delay analytics toward airport operations software over time.
The pivot is a lesson in itself. For Safir Monroe UnDelay, a hard period forced a choice about where the company could deliver value fastest: not predicting every delay, but fixing specific, costly workflows inside airports.
How the Safir Monroe UnDelay Virtual Taxi Queue Works
The virtual taxi queue is the best-documented product. Forbes explains the problem: airports have invested millions in building vast parking lots and staffing to manage taxis and shuttles and to collect fees from drivers. Monroe created an AI-powered platform that eliminates the need for these lots by letting drivers queue virtually. The system alerts drivers when it is their turn to head to the terminal and pick up passengers, and it automatically charges ground transportation fees.
KTUL’s report on Tulsa International Airport describes the before and after. Taxi drivers previously had to park in a lot south of the airport to enter the queue and manually pay the airport their ground transportation fees for each trip. With UnDelay, the airport says the process is streamlined and that the system will improve efficiency and revenue. Monroe said automation is essential in aviation operations and will raise customer satisfaction and revenue.
Dealroom lists the key product as a virtual taxi queuing and shuttle tracking system, with keywords such as curbside operations and ground transportation management. The benefits for airports are practical: less land devoted to holding lots, fewer manual transactions and better visibility of vehicles. This product is the commercial core of Safir Monroe UnDelay.
Tulsa, Dallas, Asheville and Columbia
UnDelay’s customer list is public in part. The AJC reported in 2024 that the software was used by four airports: in Dallas, Tulsa, Asheville, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina. Forbes and Dealroom name Tulsa International Airport, Columbia Metropolitan Airport and Asheville Regional Airport as users.
Monroe’s LinkedIn posts mark milestones. One announces that Columbia Metropolitan Airport was officially onboarded to the platform. Another, shared on a colleague’s profile, says Dallas Love Field Airport was onboarded and that the virtual taxi queue technology was deployed to improve operations and communication between ground operations, landside dispatchers and taxis. The Tulsa launch was reported by KTUL in February 2023.
The pattern is small and mid-sized airports first. Hypepotamus quoted Monroe saying the team was focusing on smaller airports around the country, with the long-term goal of someday being used at Atlanta’s airport. That strategy makes sense for a young company, since smaller airports can move faster than the largest hubs. For Safir Monroe UnDelay, each airport is both revenue and a reference.
UnDelay Airport Maps: Wayfinding
The second product is wayfinding. In a post, Monroe announced the launch of UnDelay Airport Maps at the airport in Columbia, South Carolina, noting that travelers frequently ask guest services or airport staff for directions to gates and facilities. In an April 2024 article in the Columbia Star, Monroe wrote that Columbia Airport had launched a new virtual wayfinding tool with UnDelay, and that travelers typically use Google Maps or airline apps for airport navigation but face poor visibility of places and integration problems.
The company’s LinkedIn page lists legacy wayfinding systems alongside taxi queues as the systems it wants to replace. The idea is that airports can offer an interactive map integrated with their own data, rather than depending on general-purpose map apps that may not know which gate, restaurant or restroom is open.
Wayfinding also creates a direct line to passengers, which the airport can use for information and, potentially, revenue. This second product gives Safir Monroe UnDelay a way to sell more than one tool to the same airport customer.
UnDelay GPT and the AI Layer
The company also uses AI beyond its queue software. A LinkedIn post describes UnDelay GPT as an AI agent that uses Llama 3 as a base model and updates itself based on real-time flight statistic changes, UnDelay Virtual Taxi Queue traffic analysis, traveler feedback surveys and airport systems. This comes from a shared social post rather than an official product page, so the exact capabilities are not independently verified.
The idea fits the founder’s early focus on AI predictions in the API stage and on combining multiple data sources. An airport operations team could ask questions about delays, queue length or traveler feedback in plain language and get answers drawn from live data.
AI in aviation raises practical questions about reliability, data access and responsibility, and airports will want clear guardrails. For Safir Monroe UnDelay, the AI layer is a way to add value on top of data it already collects, but the proof will be in how airports use it.
Grants, Accelerators and Funding
Public information on UnDelay’s funding is limited and mostly small in scale. Dealroom reports that in 2020 UnDelay won the Young Founders Pitch Competition sponsored by Cash App at AfroTech, securing a $25,000 grant. According to PitchBook data cited by Dealroom, the company received $100,000 in angel funding in September 2021 and an additional $70,000 from an accelerator in March 2022. These come from a data aggregator, so treat them as approximate.
The company has taken part in several accelerator and pitch programs. Hypepotamus notes that it would join the Bronze Valley Accelerator program in Birmingham, Alabama, and Dealroom says it was a finalist in the 10th cohort of Startup Runway. A LinkedIn post says Monroe was a top-8 finalist out of 380 companies at the Built In Miami demo day sponsored by Venture Miami and the City of Miami.
For comparison with other startups raising capital, see our Funding News section. The pattern is capital-light: grants, accelerators and small angel investments. We found no announcement of a priced venture round. How Safir Monroe UnDelay finances its next stage will matter as it tries to move from a handful of airports to a larger customer base.
Recognition: Forbes 30 Under 30 and Black Ambition
Monroe has received several forms of outside recognition. The AJC reported that he was among five Georgia founders on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists, and Forbes maintains a profile for him that lists UnDelay’s airport customers.
On LinkedIn, the company says UnDelay was a semifinalist for the Black Ambition $1 Million Prize in 2023, later a finalist for the program sponsored by Pharrell Williams, and that it asked supporters to vote in the program’s $25,000 Popular Vote award. A congratulatory comment on the post refers to a Black Ambition 2023 finalist status. Monroe’s pitch wins and awards include the AfroTech competition and Startup Runway.
Recognition does not replace revenue, but it matters for a young company selling to institutional buyers. Public awards and a Forbes listing can help an airport procurement team feel comfortable with a small vendor. For Safir Monroe UnDelay, credibility from outside sources has helped bridge the gap between a small team and large customers.
Where Safir Monroe UnDelay Fits in Airport Technology
Airport technology is a specialized market dominated by large systems providers and long-standing vendors for baggage, security, passenger processing and ground transportation. Many airports still use manual processes or legacy systems for taxi management and wayfinding.
UnDelay’s position is that of a modern, software-first challenger focused on two operational pain points. The virtual taxi queue targets a clear cost center, since airports spend on land, staff and fee collection. The wayfinding product addresses passenger experience. Both are narrower than a full airport operating system, which can make them easier to adopt.
The company’s focus on smaller airports also separates it from large vendors, which tend to target major hubs. In practical terms, Safir Monroe UnDelay competes by being faster to deploy and easier to integrate than traditional systems, while building a track record airport by airport.
What Could Slow Safir Monroe UnDelay Down
Every young B2B technology company selling to government-linked customers faces predictable hurdles. This section is analysis, not reporting.
Long sales cycles. Airports are public or quasi-public bodies with procurement rules, boards and budgets, so deals can take months or years.
Small customer base. With a handful of publicly named airports, each loss or delay matters, and public references are limited.
Public information. UnDelay’s own site was not accessible to us, and much of the public record is from 2022 to 2024, so prospective customers will look for current proof of results.
Competition and incumbents. Larger vendors and airports’ existing providers can respond with their own virtual queue or wayfinding offerings.
Funding. Grants and small angel rounds support early development but may not be enough to scale support and engineering across many airports. These risks are normal for a company at this stage, and a founder with Delta experience gives Safir Monroe UnDelay a useful understanding of how aviation buyers think.
Leadership Style and What’s Next
Monroe leads as a hands-on, builder-style founder who communicates widely. He posts airport onboarding updates himself, writes op-eds in local outlets, appears on podcasts and pitches at competitions. He describes the company’s journey as talking to people, listening and iterating, and he has said the team was small and spread between Houston and Atlanta in 2022.
Hypepotamus listed the team at that time as four people: CTO Noah Giles, Managing Director Ravin Mehra, robotics consultant Ishmael Rogers and Principal Officer Daniel Okegbu. Team composition may have changed since, so readers should check current information.
The visible roadmap includes more airport onboardings, expansion of wayfinding, deeper AI features and, as Monroe said in 2022, eventually reaching the largest airports. How Safir Monroe UnDelay balances new airports with product depth will define its next chapter.
Lessons From the Safir Monroe UnDelay Journey
The Safir Monroe UnDelay journey offers practical lessons for founders, especially in B2B and government-adjacent technology.
1. Work inside the industry first. A Delta engineering job exposed real operational pain points.
2. Start with simple products. A mobile app, then a web app, then an API let him learn before committing to heavy systems.
3. Use grants and competitions. AfroTech, Black Ambition and accelerator programs supplied early funding and credibility.
4. Let a downturn sharpen your focus. COVID forced the company to concentrate on its product.
5. Pick a clear cost problem. Taxi lots, manual fee collection and wayfinding are concrete costs airports understand.
6. Start with smaller customers. Smaller airports can adopt faster and become references.
7. Share progress publicly. Regular onboarding updates and press coverage build trust with buyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded UnDelay? UnDelay was founded by Safir Monroe, a Howard University mechanical engineering graduate and former Delta Air Lines software engineer. He is Founder and CEO.
What is the Safir Monroe UnDelay story? It is the story of a young engineer who saw outdated airport systems while working at Delta, founded UnDelay in 2018 and built software including a virtual taxi queue and airport wayfinding.
What does UnDelay do? UnDelay builds AI-powered software to improve airport operations and replace legacy taxi queue and wayfinding systems.
Is UnDelay a flight compensation service? No. Despite the name, UnDelay sells software to airports. It is not a passenger claims company like AirHelp.
Which airports use UnDelay? Public coverage lists Tulsa International, Columbia Metropolitan and Asheville Regional, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported Dallas among four airports in 2024.
How does the virtual taxi queue work? Drivers queue virtually, receive an alert when it is their turn to go to the terminal and are automatically charged ground transportation fees, so airports do not need large holding lots.
Is Safir Monroe on Forbes 30 Under 30? Yes. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that he was on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and Forbes maintains a profile for him.
Has Safir Monroe UnDelay raised funding? Public data shows grants and small amounts, including a $25,000 AfroTech pitch prize in 2020 and $100,000 in angel funding in 2021 and $70,000 from an accelerator in 2022, according to PitchBook data cited by Dealroom. We found no announced priced round.
Where is UnDelay based? Atlanta, Georgia, with a team that was spread between Atlanta and Houston in 2022.
When was UnDelay founded? 2018, according to Forbes, Dealroom and Airport Technology.
Conclusion
Safir Monroe UnDelay shows how a young engineer with inside experience can build a company around a very specific operational problem. From a Delta software job and early flight-delay analytics to virtual taxi queues, wayfinding and an AI layer used at several airports, Monroe has steadily moved the company toward products that airports can adopt and measure. His story is a useful case study in staged product building, grants and competitions as early funding and sales to cautious institutional buyers.
The open question for Safir Monroe UnDelay is whether the company can turn a handful of airport deployments into a broader customer base and a stronger funding position. If it can, UnDelay may become a recognized name in airport technology.
For more founder journeys, read Michael Fedele’s Throne Sport Coffee, Molly Sims’ YSE Beauty and Alvaro Silberstein’s Wheel the World on Denote Press, or browse more Founder Stories.
This article is for information only. Company, customer and funding details come from third-party coverage and may be out of date. Check with the company for current information.
Sources and further reading: Forbes profile, Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Forbes 30 Under 30, Hypepotamus, Airport Technology, KTUL on Tulsa International Airport, Columbia Star article by Safir Monroe, Dealroom, UnDelay on LinkedIn, Atlanta Startup Podcast, Atlanta Business Radio.
