Travel management company TripActions has officially been rebranded under the new name of Navan.
The mobile-first TMC’s website and other portals were rebranded as Navan on Tuesday morning (7 February), as reported by BTN Europe last week.
The TMC said that the rebranding to Navan was the “next stage of the company evolution”, which would unify its travel, corporate card and expense platforms into a single application.
Co-founder and CEO Ariel Cohen said: “Today’s enterprises need solutions that increase operational efficiencies, decrease costs, optimise processes and ensure compliance.
“At the same time, employees want to eliminate menial and manual tasks that take unnecessary time and energy away from their actual jobs. When done well, it's a magical experience for all involved - that's what users get with Navan.”
The company added in a statement that the name Navan had been created by bringing together the words navigate and avant.
In a further development, the TMC said it would also be enhancing its virtual travel assistant, Ava, using APIs from artificial intelligence and deployment company OpenAI, including its ChatGPT chatbot, which helps to personalise recommendations for users and increase traveller "engagement".
Ilan Twig, Navan’s co-founder and CTO, explained: “We believe business software should focus on the user by providing them with a smooth, efficient and well-supported experience.
“Since the company’s inception, it has been a leader in the travel and expense industry, incorporating AI to drive automation, predictability, optimisation and world-class customer support for users. Since we already had that infrastructure, incorporating OpenAI’s API to our codebase and Ava was a natural next step.”
Navan said its web and mobile applications can now be downloaded, with new users able to sign up with their company email and start using the app to book and manage travel without the need for a company-wide contract.
Following an acquisition spree over the past few years, TripActions raised a further $300 million in funding in October which it said increased its valuation to $9.2 billion. There were also reports in September that the company was preparing to go public in the second quarter of 2023.