Generative artificial intelligence platform for commercial operations in pilot training startup Navi AI Inc. launched today with $6.7 million in funding to accelerate development and deployment of its AI platform that analyzes flight data to improve pilot training efficiency and safety.

Founded in 2024, Navi turns every aircraft into a data source by connecting telemetry and cockpit audio with the full ecosystem of pilot data, including training materials, weather, aircraft history and traffic, to produce a detailed, moment-by-moment debrief of each flight. Before now, that process would have required days of manual analysis and was reserved for accident or incident investigations. With Navi, it can now happen automatically after every flight to give trainee pilots, flight instructors and flight schools a continuous picture of performance and safety.

“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,” said founder and Chief Executive Nikola Kostic. “With Navi AI, every maneuver, every callout and every training flight becomes data that teaches how to make the next one safer and more efficient. Navi AI’s living network of insights is shifting how aviation learns — starting with flight training.”

Navi is not offering a simulator service and its AI does not control aircraft or make flight decisions, since flight instructors remain central to every training decision. The idea is that the data gathered by Navi’s system can be used to improve human decision-making in the cockpit.

Under the hood, the system works by ingesting cockpit audio, aircraft data and environmental and operational sources to generate actionable insights for trainee pilots, flight instructors and flight academies. The company’s large language model analyzes intent, behavior and performance and aligns its outputs with the respective flight school’s training syllabus for the lesson or maneuver being taught.

For trainee pilots and flight instructors, Navi offers clarity and consistency through structured flight debriefs that capture patterns, risks and learning moments often missed in manual debriefing. New pilots can engage with a context-aware AI assistant that is grounded in standard operating procedures, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight-specific data to ask questions, pinpoint relevant citations and surface tutorials tied to their own performance.

The company’s system also combines flight data analysis with flight instructor interactions, environmental data and procedural context to deliver a depth of operational insight that Navi claims does not currently exist in aviation. Every maneuver, instructor correction and deviation in every flight is captured and analyzed to give institutions real-time visibility into trainee progression, program-wide trend analysis and early detection of emerging safety patterns before they become incidents.

Though formally launching only today, Navi’s technology is already in use or undergoing evaluation across leading flight schools, including Sling Pilot Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of North Dakota, Purdue University, Utah State University, Delta State University and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.

The $6.7 million in funding came from United Airlines Ventures, BVVC, New Vista Capital, Raptor Group Holdings, I2BF Global Ventures Ltd. and the U.S. Department of War. The Department of War has granted $1.27 million to Navi to adapt the company’s technology for the U.S. Air Force, specifically for use at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

At the Air Force Test Pilot School, Navi is tailoring its AI-driven debriefing and flight analysis capabilities for the school’s T-38 fleet, where precision, adaptability and rapid learning are requirements. The Northrop T-38 Talon (pictured) is a two-seat, twin-jet supersonic jet trainer that has trained more than 72,000 U.S. Air Force pilots.

Photo: U.S. Air Force