With Aero Ventures, Sergey Petrossov Wants to Solve Private Aviation's Pain Points: Information Deficit and Slow Delivery

A family office considering a Bombardier Global 6500 wants to know what the aircraft costs to own over five years. In real estate, they might pull up Sotheby’s International Realty or Zillow for instant pricing and cost estimates. In private aviation, they call their broker and wait. Days can turn into weeks as the broker manually researches comparable sales, checks maintenance records, and taps their network for market intelligence.

This waiting game costs more than time. Without transparent pricing data, buyers and sellers negotiate in the dark, relying on brokers who control access to critical market information. A $15 million aircraft might sit unsold for months while potential buyers struggle to determine fair value, or a seller might accept an offer thousands below market because they lack visibility into current demand.

Sergey Petrossov, managing partner at Aero Ventures, wants to eliminate this friction.

“By solving for the two biggest pain points, lack of information and slow delivery, we believe Aero Ventures will become the hub where the world’s most discerning aviation clients begin and manage every major ownership decision,” he told Sherpa Report recently.

The Information Gap

Pre-owned jet transaction value reached $13.4 billion in 2024, with Jetcraft forecasting over $70 billion in deals through 2029. Yet the market's scale hasn't translated into transparency. Traditional brokerage models tend to rely on relationship-based information sharing, creating advantages for insiders while leaving buyers to navigate incomplete data and extended wait times.

Aircraft pricing has historically lacked standardization. One buyer might wait weeks for a manual valuation report based on limited comparables, while another with better broker connections accessed whisper prices from recent off-market deals. This information asymmetry favored seasoned participants who maintained extensive industry networks.

Petrossov described the challenge to Sherpa Report: "Today, most aircraft sales require weeks of back-and-forth, incomplete information, and outdated valuations."

Aero Ventures' platform is designed for continuous data ingestion. It uses an AI-based system to pull real-time aircraft specifications, recent transaction prices, and market comparables to generate instant fair market values. Where brokers previously spent days or weeks gathering information manually, the platform can deliver valuations immediately.

The system tracks inventory levels and absorption rates across aircraft types and regions. Users can determine whether current market conditions favor buyers or sellers for specific models, intelligence that previously might have required insider knowledge or extensive research.

"Our platform aggregates market intelligence - true transaction prices, on- and off-market availability, and detailed aircraft specifications - and produces instant fair market values," Petrossov said.

"We layer in decision tools like absorption rates, five-year ownership cost simulations, residual value forecasts, and comparative charter economics."

Compressing Transaction Timelines

Speed is the second structural problem Aero Ventures wants to target. Traditional aircraft sales involve multiple sequential steps: initial inquiries, waiting for broker research and valuations, back-and-forth negotiations, due diligence periods, and closing processes that can stretch months.

But AI-generated valuations deliver results that traditionally required weeks of broker research. The system centralizes verified aircraft histories and specifications - information buyers previously gathered from multiple sources. Aero Ventures also deploys capital directly, offering purchase options and bridge financing that traditional brokers typically cannot provide.

Petrossov said the firm can provide cash offers within 48 hours. This capital deployment differentiates Aero Ventures from traditional brokers who facilitate transactions but don't use principal capital.

Sellers gain liquidity options: immediate cash purchases or structured arrangements providing upfront funds with shared upside on eventual resale. For buyers, Aero Ventures offers bridge financing enabling aircraft acquisition even when capital remains tied up in existing assets. These structures mirror practices common in real estate and automotive markets but rare in aviation, where buyers typically must complete sales before purchasing replacements or secure separate financing.

"On the capital side, we offer options most brokerages can't," Petrossov said.

Data-Driven Market Intelligence

Aero Ventures uses AI to continuously monitor global aircraft market activity: tracking new listings, price changes, and completed sales across regions and aircraft classes. It generates real-time analytics showing how demand for specific jet categories trends quarter-over-quarter, or how supply of particular models changes.

The system employs machine learning that improves with each transaction, said Petrossov, who describes this as a "self-reinforcing data flywheel.” The more deals flow through the platform, the more accurate its valuations and predictions become. If the system detects that large-cabin jets in Asia are selling at premiums, it adjusts valuations accordingly.

"AI is the engine behind Aero Ventures' competitive edge," he told Sherpa Report.

"Our AI agents pull real-time aircraft specifications, transaction data, and market comps, then generate instant, accurate fair market values. They also model cost-of-ownership scenarios, factoring in charter revenue potential, tax treatments, and financing structures. The more transactions we ingest, the smarter and faster the system gets."

Qualified Access Model

Aero Ventures targets qualified buyers and sellers in the $10 million-plus range.

Its AI-based system identifies potential matches based on aircraft type, budget, and timing requirements, then connects parties through human advisors who handle negotiation and due diligence. This hybrid model integrates the consultative expertise clients expect for transactions worth millions of dollars.

The approach reflects lessons Petrossov learned building JetSmarter, the mobile charter booking platform he founded in 2012, which was acquired by Vista Global in 2019. JetSmarter operated through a membership-based network where vetted communities improved efficiency and user trust. Aero Ventures applies similar logic to aircraft ownership transactions, using technology to reduce information barriers, but with the aim of maintaining service standards typical of boutique brokerages.

Petrossov explained that users can explore the platform independently - running valuations, testing ownership scenarios, comparing aircraft specifications - before engaging advisors. When they contact Aero Ventures' team to execute transactions, they arrive informed, allowing advisors to focus on high-value work like negotiation strategy and transaction structuring.

"For clients, that means industry best insight at digital speed, delivered in seconds instead of weeks," Petrossov said. "In a market where time is money, this is a major differentiator."