Business Travel Company Navan Files for IPO, Shrugs Off Widening Losses

Navan, a workplace travel and expense management software provider, plans to go public on the Nasdaq, according to an SEC document filed on Friday. Navan is one of several VC-backed companies taking advantage of the current bull market.

This IPO is especially bold. In the last six months, Navan’s losses widened by 8% while the velocity of its payment volume slowed compared with its 2024 pace. The firm’s revenue is growing approximately 30% year over year, and its full-year net loss narrowed from $331 million to $180 million between January 2024 and 2025, according to its S-1. But in the last six months, its R&D and sales and marketing costs have grown, resulting in a net loss in the first six months of 2025 of $100 million. Much of that spending likely went to the development of its AI agent tool.

Navan’s largest shareholders include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and Zeev Ventures.

The company’s decision to go public despite its widening losses is a testament to the appeal of the current IPO window. Over a dozen VC-backed companies have either gone public or are expected to go public in the two months between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, producing some long-overdue liquidity for venture capitalists.

Founded in 2015 in Israel, Navan rose to prominence in a sector dominated by legacy players like Workday WDAY and SAP Concur by offering a more streamlined and modernized user experience. After its revenue collapsed at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, the firm added an expense management feature to what was then a travel-focused tool.

Navan has yet to launch its AI agent, Navan Cognition, but the company said in a regulatory filing that its AI customer support chat feature handled half of all user interactions in the first half of 2025.

Navan last raised private financing in 2022, securing a $340 million round at a valuation of $9.2 billion.