Navan just barrelled through a government shutdown to notch its long-awaited IPO.
The travel and expense management company grabbed one of the biggest IPO raises of the year.
We calculated what Navan’s biggest shareholders and board members’ stakes are worth after the IPO.
After years of a rebrand, delayed IPOs, and pandemic whiplash, Navan’s early investors are finally getting their reward.
The corporate travel and expense management platform debuted on the Nasdaq on Thursday at $25 per share, in the middle of its expected range, raising $923 million at a $6.2 billion valuation.
It’s the largest company to test the IPO waters during the government shutdown. The shutdown has prompted some other companies to delay their public listings, including consumer group Unilever‘s spinoff of its Magnum Ice Cream unit.
Navan is taking advantage of a new exception by the Securities and Exchange Commission, however — shortly after the IPO market came to a sudden halt earlier this month, the SEC said new listings would automatically go into effect without SEC review 20 days after companies set an IPO price range.
That bet may be pressuring the company’s stock, which opened on Thursday below its IPO price at $22 per share and continued to trade down throughout the day, closing at $20 per share. Navan has also faced some investor concerns that it’s not yet profitable.
Navan’s $6.2 billion IPO valuation is a step down from its all-time high at $9.2 billion in 2022, continuing this year’s trend of down round IPOs.
Navan, which was formerly known as Trip Actions, has faced several setbacks since its founding. The company raised its first round of funding in 2015 at a $4.5 million valuation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Group 11, Oren Zeev, Raaid Hossain, and Zeev Ventures.
By early 2020, Navan was recording revenue of around $100 million. However, that figure plummeted to nearly zero during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the IPO market soon ground to a halt, and investors had to wait two more years for a payday. Now they can finally celebrate.
“I’m really happy to return capital to the investors,” said Dovi Frances, founding partner of Group 11, whose initial investment came from its first institutional fund. That investment will return the entire fund three times over, the sort of early bet that can define a venture capitalist’s reputation for picking early winners. “For the first time in my career, fundraising will no longer be an issue,” Frances said.
We used Navan’s share price at Thursday’s market close, $20, to determine the value of its major shareholders’ and board members’ stakes after the listing. Since Navan opened down from its IPO price, we excluded additional shares issued by the company that Navan’s underwriters could sell to help balance IPO demand.
Here’s what those stakes are worth after Navan’s IPO.
Lightspeed Venture Partners, an investor:
Arif Janmohamed, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Lightspeed owns nearly 50 million Navan shares, or about 20% of the company after its IPO.
The VC firm first invested in Navan in its 2015 seed round. Lightspeed invested in every subsequent round through Navan’s $300 million Series G in 2022, which valued Navan at $9.2 billion.
Lightspeed’s portfolio has enjoyed a number of tech IPOs, including social media company Snap and buy now, pay later platform Affirm. It’s also betting on top AI startups, including Anthropic and Glean.
Lightspeed partner Arif Janmohamed sits on Navan’s board of directors. Per Navan’s S-1, he controls about 5.3 million shares of the company for voting purposes.
Lightspeed didn’t sell any shares in Navan’s IPO.
At a $20 share price, its stake is now worth about $1 billion.
Zeev Ventures, an investor:
Zeev Ventures owns about 37.3 million shares of Navan, or about 15% of the company after its IPO.
The early-stage VC fund, run by solo GP Oren Zeev, first funded Navan in its 2015 seed round. The firm continued to invest through Navan’s Series G.
Zeev first backed Navan’s cofounders in 2013, writing a check for their first venture together, StreamOnce. He now sits on Navan’s board of directors.
He invested in Navan himself twice, at its seed round and its Series B, according to PitchBook. According to Navan’s S-1, he owns about 57,000 Navan shares individually, which are part of the 37.3 million listed as belonging to Zeev Ventures and related entities.
Zeev Ventures’ backers include Peter Thiel and university endowments. The firm has invested in companies including clothing brand Bonobos and edtech company Chegg.
Zeev also established a children’s trust that holds about 5.3 million shares of Navan. JPMorgan serves as its independent trustee. The trust sold 200,000 shares in Navan’s IPO, valued at $5 million at a $25-a-share IPO price, and making the trust’s remaining stake worth about $102 million after Navan’s IPO.
Zeev Ventures didn’t sell any shares in Navan’s IPO. At a $20 share price, the firm’s remaining stake is worth about $747 million.
Andreessen Horowitz, an investor:
Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz, sits on Navan’s board of directors.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Andreessen Horowitz owns about 25.4 million Navan shares, or around 10% of the company after its IPO.
The Silicon Valley mega-firm made its first investment into Navan in November 2018, leading the company’s $154 million Series C round. That raise brought Navan’s valuation to over $1 billion. A16z continued to invest through Navan’s 2022 Series G.
A16z cofounder and general partner Ben Horowitz sits on Navan’s board of directors.
A16z didn’t sell any stock in Navan’s IPO. At a $20 share price, its remaining stake is worth about $508 million.
Greenoaks Capital, an investor:
Neil Mehta, founder of Greenoaks Capital.
Greenoaks Capital
Greenoaks Capital owns about 14.3 million Navan shares, or 5.8% of the company after its IPO.
The San Francisco-based tech investment firm first backed Navan in June 2020. Greenoaks led a $125 million funding round that Navan framed as a “convertible-to-IPO financing,” meaning investors in the deal issued Navan debt that would convert to equity at the time of its IPO.
Greenoaks also led Navan’s Series F fundraise the following year at a $7.25 billion valuation.
In all, Greenoaks invested $115 million into Navan, according to a source familiar.
The firm didn’t sell any shares in Navan’s IPO.
At a $20 share price, its remaining stake is worth about $286 million.
Ilan Twig, cofounder and CTO:
Navan cofounder and CTO Ilan Twig.
Harry Murphy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images
Twig owns about 12.7 million shares of Navan, or about 5.1% of the company after its IPO.
Twig started Navan in 2015 alongside CEO Ariel Cohen, citing a history of frustration with outdated corporate travel tools. It was their second venture together — the two had cofounded social enterprise software company StreamOnce in 2012, which they sold to Jive Software the following year.
As CTO, Twig leads Navan’s product development and engineering teams. While Twig and Cohen own a smaller portion of the company’s overall shares compared to its largest investors, they’re the only two parties to hold Class B shares, meaning they have greater voting power and maintain more control over the company’s ultimate direction.
Twig sold exactly 1 million shares in Navan’s IPO. At Navan’s $25 IPO share price, that sale would’ve netted him $25 million.
At a $20 share price, his remaining stake is worth about $255 million.
Ariel Cohen, cofounder and CEO:
Ariel Cohen, cofounder and CEO of Navan.
Navan
Cohen owns about 10.2 million Navan shares, or about 3.7% of the company.
Cohen met his cofounder, Twig, in the early 2000s at the Israeli software company where they both worked, Mercury Interactive, which was acquired a few years later by HP.
Cohen moved to the US in 2009, three years after Twig. He was working at Jive Software in 2012 when he started the company with Twig, which Jive Software would eventually acquire.
Cohen said in a blog post co-authored with Twig on Thursday about Navan’s IPO that they built Navan with AI embedded at the business’s core. He and Twig wrote that its generative AI investment has paid off, allowing Navan to provide personalized trip options to reduce booking times and help travelers make faster last-minute changes to their itineraries.
Cohen sold about 900,000 shares in Navan’s IPO. At a $25 IPO share price, that sale would’ve netted him $22.5 million.
At a $20 share price, Cohen’s remaining stake is worth about $185 million.
Premji Invest, an investor:
Sandesh Patnam, managing partner at Premji Invest.
Premji Invest
Premji Invest owns 8.6 million shares of Navan, or about 3.4% of the company after its IPO.
Premji led Navan’s Series G fundraise, according to the firm. Navan didn’t disclose the lead investor in the equity portion of the Series G at the time of the raise.
Sandesh Patnam, Premji’s managing director, joined Navan’s board of directors at its Series G. At Premji, he’s led investments into several companies that reached IPOs or big acquisitions, including business planning platform Anaplan, subscription management company Zuora, and enterprise spend management company Coupa, which all went public, as well as analytics company Looker, which Google acquired for $2.85 billion, and corporate software company Apttus, which Thoma Bravo acquired for $1.85 billion.
Premji didn’t sell any shares in Navan’s IPO.
At a $20 share price, its remaining stake is worth about $171 million.
Einat Klopfer Cohen, Ariel Cohen’s ex-spouse:
Klopfer Cohen owns 6.9 million Navan shares, or 2.5% of the company after its IPO.
It’s unclear how long Klopfer Cohen and Ariel Cohen were married. According to public records, they were divorced in December 2023. Klopfer Cohen is a marriage and family therapist in the Bay Area.
Klopfer Cohen is included in the S-1 as a significant selling shareholder. She sold about 680,000 shares in Navan’s IPO, which would’ve come out to $17 million at the $25 IPO price.
At a $20 share price, her remaining stake is worth about $125 million.
Group 11, an investor:
Dovi Frances is the founding partner of Group 11, a venture capital firm based in Los Angeles.
Group 11
Group 11 and its founding partner, Dovi Frances, own about 6.1 million shares, or 2.4% of Navan.
Frances personally invested in Navan’s seed round in 2015 at $14.5 million valuation.
The next year, he doubled down in the company’s Series A at a $40.1 million valuation via the first fund Group 11 raised from outside investors.
Frances’ bet proved to be a home run, returning the entire fund more than three times over.
The firm also invested in a later round out of its third fund, more than tripling its initial position.
“They were talented founders, and also second-time founders, which we typically gravitate towards,” Frances said of his decision to invest. “They are also Israeli, and that was part of the thesis of the fund. 90% of all of my deals are with Israeli-related founders and teams.”
Group 11 wasn’t included in Navan’s S-1, as the company’s filing didn’t include shareholders with a stake of less than 5% who aren’t represented on Navan’s board and who didn’t sell shares in the IPO. The firm shared the size of its stake with Business Insider.
At a $20 share price, Frances and Group 11 are sitting on a stake worth around $122 million.
H. Barton Asset Management, an investor:
H. Barton Asset Management owns 3.1 million Navan shares, or 1.2% of the company after its IPO.
The firm is helmed by Harrison Barton, the private equity investor and former offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers.
In 1999, the year after he left the NFL, Barton began investing in venture capital through his fund-of-funds Champion Ventures, later renamed HRJ Capital, which he cofounded alongside another former professional football player, Ronnie Lott.
After HRJ Capital was acquired by Capital Dynamics in 2009, Barton started H. Barton Asset Management to invest in early-stage tech companies.
Barton sold 121,635 shares in Navan’s IPO, which at a $25 share price would’ve netted his firm about $3 million.
At $20 a share, his remaining stake is worth about $60 million.
Michael Sindicich, president:
Michael Sindicich, president of Navan.
Navan
Sindicich owns about 1.2 million Navan shares, or 0.4% of the company after its IPO.
Sindicich was appointed Navan’s president in March. He began as a senior executive in Navan’s sales department in 2016 and worked his way up the ranks over the years, serving from April 2023 until this March as the CEO of Navan Expense, the company’s expense management platform.
Before Navan, Sindicich led sales teams at Apptimize, acquired by Airship, and cofounded the financial brokerage Hurley Brothers.
Sindicich sold about 230,000 shares in Navan’s IPO. At $25 a share, that sale would’ve netted him about $5.8 million.
At $20 a share, his remaining stake is worth about $20 million.
Michael Kourey, board director:
Kourey owns about 61,000 shares of Navan, or roughly .02% of the company after its IPO.
Kourey has a long history in executive finance and auditing roles, most recently serving as Dialpad’s CFO from 2021 until this February. He joined Navan’s board of directors in November 2024 as its audit committee chair.
Before Dialpad, Kourey briefly served as Okta’s CFO in early 2021, where he’d sat on the board of directors for five years. He was also the CFO of software company Vlocity, acquired by Salesforce in 2020; the CFO of customer experience management company Medallia; and a partner at Khosla Ventures.
His earliest win came at Polycom, where he joined as the conferencing tech maker’s seventh employee. He stayed there for 20 years, serving as Polycom’s CFO for 15 years and leading the company through its 1996 IPO.
In addition to his role on Navan’s board, he also sits on the boards of Medable, Illumio, Ohalo, Dialpad, and Cribl.
Kourey didn’t sell any shares in Navan’s IPO. At a $20 share price, his remaining stake is worth about $1.2 million.
Clara Liang, board director
Liang owns about 57,000 shares of Navan, or about .02% of the company after its IPO.
Liang leads global strategic operations at fintech startup Stripe. She joined Navan’s board of directors in 2022.
She’s known Cohen and Twig for over a decade, having spent three years as the chief product officer of Jive Software, the then-public tech company that bought Cohen and Twig’s first startup, StreamOnce.
Liang has also held product leadership roles at Airbnb and IBM. She currently sits on SoFi’s board of directors.
She didn’t sell any shares in Navan’s IPO.
At a $20 share price, Liang’s remaining stake is worth about $1.1 million.
