Navi AI has launched publicly with more than $6 million in funding as it looks to expand its AI-powered pilot training platform across US flight schools and into military training, the company announced.
The San Francisco-based AI startup said United Airlines Ventures, BVVC, New Vista Capital, Raptor Group and I2BF participated in the funding, along with a $1.27 million SBIR Phase II contract from the US Department of War.
The company said its platform is already commercially operational and is deploying in spring 2026 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and other flight training institutions. Navi said it quietly founded the company in 2024 and trained its platform on more than 100,000 real flight hours.
Navi said the system connects cockpit audio, aircraft telemetry and other inputs, including training materials, weather, aircraft history and traffic data, to produce a detailed post-flight debrief for student pilots, instructors and flight schools. The company said that process is designed to turn what once took days of manual analysis into an automated review after each flight.
Navi AI Chief Executive Officer Nikola Kostic said the aim is to make aviation training more proactive by analyzing routine flights, not just incidents. Navi said its platform creates structured debriefs that highlight patterns, risks and learning moments that might otherwise be missed in manual reviews.
“Aviation safety has improved dramatically over the decades, but has for the most part been reactive: We wait for things to go wrong to look at the data and understand why,” Kostic said. “With Navi AI, every maneuver, every callout, every training flight becomes data that teaches how to make the next one safer and more efficient.”
The company stressed that the platform is not a simulator and does not control the aircraft or make flight decisions. Instead, Navi AI said it gives flight instructors additional data to support training decisions and improve human decision-making in the cockpit.
For students and instructors, Navi said the platform generates reports that include 40 to 50 key insights through text, visuals and animations, along with a context-aware AI assistant tied to standard operating procedures, FAA regulations and flight-specific data. At the flight school level, the company said the system gives flight academies visibility into trainee progression, instructor interventions and emerging safety trends.
Navi said its technology is already in use or under evaluation at Sling Pilot Academy, Embry-Riddle, the University of North Dakota, Purdue University, Utah State University, Delta State University and the US Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. It also said it has established a technology partnership with Garmin.
