Ariel Cohen (Navan)

Cohen holds a B.A. in economics from the College of Management Academic Studies and an Executive MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. As of May 2026 he was 50 years old.⁠[1]

In the early 2000s Cohen worked at the software company Mercury Interactive, where he met his future co-founder Ilan Twig. After HP acquired MercuryMercury (fintech company)Mercury is an American fintech company founded in 2017 by Immad Akhund, Jason Zhang and Max Tagher; it launched account services for businesses in 2019. Its platform combines financial services provided by partner banks with software for bills, invoices and expense management. Mercury itself remains a fintech company; the proposed Mercury Bank, N.A. should be distinguished from the current partner-bank model.Open the full entry, the two continued in roles at HP and at Opsware, the company founded by Ben HorowitzBen HorowitzBen Horowitz is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and business author who co-founded Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with Marc Andreessen in 2009. He previously led Loudcloud’s transition into Opsware and its 2007 sale to Hewlett-Packard. His writing and investing address startup management, organizational culture and the relationship between technology and cultural industries.Open the full entry and Marc AndreessenMarc AndreessenMarc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, a co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). While in college he helped develop the graphical web browser Mosaic, then co-founded Netscape and Loudcloud (later renamed Opsware), and has long served as a director of Meta; he has also published essays such as “Why Software Is Eating the World.”Open the full entry. Twig moved to the United States in 2006 and Cohen followed in 2009.⁠[2]

From 2006 to 2010 Cohen held senior roles at HP, where he led product management.⁠[1][3]

From 2010 to 2012 Cohen was senior director of product management at Jive Software. In August 2012 he and Twig started StreamOnce, with Cohen as CEO; it built a business multimedia integration platform that let business users communicate across incompatible chat platforms, and its seed round was funded by Lightspeed Venture PartnersLightspeed Venture PartnersLightspeed Venture Partners backs companies from seed through late-stage financing. Its website distinguishes Lightspeed Management Company (LSVP) from Lightspeed India Partners (LSIP): the two are separately operated investment advisers, with the U.S., European, and Israeli offices belonging to LSVP and the India and Southeast Asia offices belonging to LSIP.Open the full entry and Oren Zeev.⁠[1][2][4]

StreamOnce reached $1 million in revenue and was acquired by Jive Software within nine months of its founding. Cohen then served as vice president of product management at Jive Software until founding TripActions.⁠[2][1]

After leaving Jive, the pair first pitched Lightspeed Venture Partners partner Arif Janmohamed on an idea to make recording and filing business expenses less painful; two months later they pivoted to rewarding employees for saving money on business travel bookings, the concept that became TripActions.⁠[4]

Cohen and Twig date the start of TripActions to May 15, 2015. Cohen served as the company’s president from February 2015 to March 2025 and is its co-founder and chief executive officer.⁠[2][1]

In November 2018 TripActions raised $154 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion, with Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry joining as an investor. In June 2019 it raised another $250 million at a $4 billion valuation, when it had more than 2,000 customers and over 700 employees.⁠[4][5]

Cohen and Twig recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, with global air travel at a standstill, the company’s revenue fell to zero; that year it launched the expense management product TripActions Liquid, later renamed Navan Expense.⁠[2]

From March 2021 to May 2025 Cohen served on the board of the ride-hailing company Lyft.⁠[1]

In October 2022 TripActions announced a $304 million Series G at a post-money valuation of $9.2 billion. Cohen said at the time: “TripActions is proof that empowering users through relentless innovation and automation is the future of travel.”⁠[6]

In February 2023 TripActions renamed itself Navan and consolidated its travel and expense products into one app. Cohen said in the announcement: “When done well, it’s a magical experience for all involved—that’s what users get with Navan.”⁠[7]

On October 29, 2025 Navan priced its initial public offering at $25 per share, and its stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “NAVN” the next day.⁠[8]

On September 9, 2026 Navan announced second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $233 million, up 35% year over year. Cohen said in the results announcement: “We are leading travel into the agentic era - combining proprietary AI with human expertise across the entire journey to advance our vision to build the best travel agency on the planet.”⁠[9]

Navan: Official website: https://navan.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]