Navan, the Business Travel and Expense Startup, Files for IPO Amid Booming Deal Market

Navan, a business travel, payments, and expense management startup, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Friday afternoon, signaling its intent to go public and expand its presence in the financial markets. The company’s S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates that it plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “NAVN.” This move is part of Navan’s broader strategy to gain capital for growth while offering investors a stake in its rapidly expanding operations.

According to the filing, Navan reported trailing 12-month revenue of $613 million, reflecting a 32% increase year-over-year. Additionally, the company achieved $7.6 billion in gross bookings, up 34% compared to the previous period. These figures were generated from a customer base exceeding 10,000 organizations, highlighting the company’s strong market traction in the business travel and expense management sector. The proposed IPO will be led by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, serving as lead book-running managers, which underscores the confidence of major financial institutions in Navan’s market potential.

Navan has received recognition in the startup ecosystem, ranking No. 39 on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list this year, and it was also featured on the 2024 list. This recognition reflects the company’s innovative approach and the significant impact it has made in streamlining and modernizing business travel and expense management processes. Founded in 2015 by CEO Ariel Cohen and co-founder Ilan Twig, Navan set out to disrupt a sector dominated by legacy systems and fragmented workflows. By providing an integrated platform for business travel, payments, and expense tracking, Navan has positioned itself as a key player in a highly competitive market.

The IPO filing comes at a time when the U.S. IPO market has rebounded strongly. Deal activity has surged 56% across 156 deals, with roughly 200 IPO filings in total, raising about $30 billion in proceeds—an increase of over 23% compared to the previous year, according to Renaissance Capital, an IPO tracking firm. Although the market remains below the heights reached during the COVID-era IPO boom—when $142 billion and $78 billion were raised in 2021 and 2020, respectively—2025 is shaping up to be the best year for IPOs since 2021.

The current year’s deal flow has been driven by high-profile IPOs, including AI startups like Coreweave and some of the most valuable startups from the past decade, such as fintech giant Klarna, design platform Figma, and crypto companies Circle, Bullish, and Gemini. Several long-anticipated IPOs, such as Stubhub, also entered the market, although Stubhub’s shares fell after the initial trading day. In addition, prominent players like Amazon reseller Pattern went public on Friday.

The robust IPO activity has been further supported by growing investor appetite, encouraging other startups to pursue public listings. The Renaissance IPO ETF has gained 20% this year, indicating positive sentiment in the broader market. This environment makes Navan’s timing favorable, providing an opportunity to attract capital while building on its innovative approach to business travel and expense management.

Navan’s core mission focuses on disrupting the traditional business travel industry, which has historically relied on clunky, legacy tools and fragmented operational workflows. By offering an integrated and modernized platform, Navan enables companies to manage travel bookings, payments, and expense reporting more efficiently. The company’s growth metrics, industry recognition, and timing of the IPO suggest a promising path forward as it aims to scale operations, expand market share, and capitalize on the strong appetite for technology-driven solutions in corporate travel management.

In summary, Navan’s IPO filing represents a strategic milestone for the company, reflecting both its rapid growth and its ambition to modernize the business travel and expense management industry. With strong revenue growth, a growing customer base, and favorable market conditions, the IPO positions Navan to raise capital for further expansion while offering investors exposure to an innovative and disruptive startup.