The travel industry has ramped back up faster than airlines can staff their planes. For corporate travel, in particular, global spend was $1.4 trillion in 2019 before the pandemic hit. While we the industry won’t quite reach that number again in 2022, spending is projected to reach 55 percent of 2019 levels by the end of the year. Amid this growing demand, San Francisco-based Navan raised new capital to help businesses manage travel.
Navan offers enterprises a cloud-based platform for managing their travel and expenses. The company announced Wednesday its Series G financing totaling $304 million, bringing its valuation to $9.2 billion. Its latest raise consists of a $150 million structured capital transaction led by Coatue as well as $154 million in equity.
Having increased its valuation by more than 2x since the start of 2020, according to the company, Navan chalks this growth up to its dedicated focus on travel and payment innovation during the pandemic. The company’s platform uses AI to help clients manage travel booking, itinerary management, corporate cards and expenses. It also serves as a travel agency, connecting companies to local agents who can help them book travel anywhere across the globe.
“Navan is building the best travel and expense management solution in the world. The recent funding round shows not only the strength of its business model but also the value to companies looking to increase savings and enable responsible spending,” Ariel Cohen, Navan co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Navan is proof that empowering users through relentless innovation and automation is the future of travel.”
Its automated solution, Navan Liquid, is a card-based tool that equips finance teams with real-time data, helping their companies keep traveling employees safe, reduce spend and drive productivity. Through this product, Navan recorded more than 7.5x spend volume growth in Q2 this year.
The company serves customers including Dropbox, Zoom, Toast and Lyft.
With its fresh capital, Navan plans to fuel global expansion. Over the past year, Navan has acquired several travel companies including Comtravo and Resia, and opened offices in Portugal, Germany, France and the U.K. Across almost 60 offices worldwide, the company now employs more than 2,500 people.
Navan’ latest funding round follows its Series F last October. As the company grows, it is currently hiring for several Bay Area-based positions across data, engineering and other departments.
