Nik Milanović

From two founders in Palo Alto to a $6 billion public company, Navan shows what happens when AI meets the most human part of business: travel.

Navan’s IPO is a reminder that profitable scale, AI-driven automation, and user-first design can still create breakout stories – even in a crowded SaaS market.

According to CEO Ariel Cohen:

“You’re always one click away from Ava – our chatbot to fix a flight, connect to a new hotel, whatever you need.”

Early investors who held through the long runway – Lightspeed, a16z, Oren Zeev, Greenoaks, Premji, Group 11, are seeing the payoff after a decade-long build.

Navan ranked #39 on the CNBC Disruptor 50 and is now among 2025’s largest software IPOs – a rare feat for a company rebuilt from pandemic shutdown to global rollout.

That turned into a $600M+ revenue business and a category-defining example of AI-first SaaS at enterprise scale.

The founders, Ariel Cohen & Ilan Twig, started in 2015 with a simple idea:

Make corporate travel painless, automate the admin, and give finance teams visibility in real time.

Navan’s platform compresses a 45-minute trip booking into 7 minutes, saving clients ≈ 15% in travel costs.

It’s built around Ava, the AI assistant now handling ~50% of user interactions – from rebookings to receipts.

Behind the market noise, the numbers tell a stronger story:
→ $613 million trailing-12-month revenue (+32%)
→ $7.6 billion in annual bookings (+34%)
→ Over 10,000 enterprise customers – from OpenAI to Unilever to Blue Origin.

Navan’s public debut marks a new chapter for AI-driven SaaS.

The corporate-travel and expense “super app” (formerly TripActions) listed on Nasdaq as $NAVN, raising $923 million at a $6.2 billion valuation.

If the IPO proceeds, it’ll be the moment Ethereum’s builder economy meets Wall Street – on equal footing.

A spokesperson told CoinDesk the firm has “nothing to announce at this time” – but said it’s constantly exploring opportunities to expand its impact.

Consensys also backs SharpLink, which just deployed $200M in onchain yield strategies on Linea, its own Layer 2.

The timing isn’t random:
→ Circle, Gemini, and Bullish all went public this year
→ U.S. regulatory clarity is improving
→ Institutional interest in Ethereum is accelerating

MetaMask alone is used by millions to manage tokens, hold crypto, and connect to apps across Web3.

Founded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, Consensys builds the tools that make Ethereum usable:

→ MetaMask
→ Linea (Layer 2 network)
→ Developer + enterprise tooling

If it lists, it would be the largest Ethereum-native public debut ever.
And another sign that crypto infrastructure is moving into capital markets.

Ethereum’s biggest builder is heading for Wall Street.

@Consensys, creator of @MetaMask, is preparing for an IPO – with @JPMorgan and @GoldmanSachs as lead underwriters.

Barclays is buying distribution, technology, and speed – the pillars of modern consumer finance.

The strategy:
→ Use Barclays Bank Delaware as the U.S. platform
→ Combine digital risk, servicing, and data capabilities
→ Complement its co-brand credit card business

Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan called the U.S. consumer market “deep and sophisticated” and said it’s where the bank sees its biggest growth runway.

Some deal details:
→ $800M consideration (high single-digit P/E multiple)
→ $7B+ originations expected this year
→ Accretive to RoTE & EPS in 2027
→ Closes Q2 2026 (after the AA co-brand receivables sale)

For Barclays, this isn’t just about growth.

It’s about shifting from interest income to platform income – scaling like a fintech, not a legacy lender.

Best Egg’s model is capital-light:
→ Earn fees from loan origination + servicing
→ Funded via securitization + forward-flow deals
→ Services $11B in personal loans

The deal adds 2M customers and expands Barclays’ footprint in the world’s most competitive lending market.

Barclays just made an $800M move into U.S. consumer finance.

It’s buying Best Egg, a personal-loan platform that’s originated $40B+ since 2013.

The message is clear:

Stablecoins are becoming a core banking instrument – programmable, regulated, and ready for scale.

As Coinbase’s Brian Foster put it:

“Banks, brokers and fintechs are looking for partnerships involving a range of services including spot and derivatives trading, custody, staking and payments.”

Citi’s own “Future of Finance” team projects the stablecoin market could top $1T in five years (up from ~$300B today).

@Coinbase brings the infrastructure – it already powers 250+ financial institutions globally under its Crypto-as-a-Service arm.