Navigate Ventures is pleased to announce it has made an investment in Iris, an AI platform that helps sales and pre-sales teams automate RFP processes and accelerate deal cycles.

About Iris

Iris is an AI platform that helps sales and presales teams automate the most time-consuming parts of the RFP process. By centralizing institutional knowledge and generating tailored responses for RFPs, security questionnaires, and due diligence documentation, the platform enables teams to respond faster, submit more bids, and accelerate deal cycles without sacrificing quality.

Using AI trained on a company’s internal knowledge base, Iris helps organizations create highly tailored sales and support content while reducing manual work and operational bottlenecks in complex sales processes.

Ben Hills is the Founder & CEO of Iris, an AI-native proposal and RFP automation platform used by 200 companies. Named after his grandmother, whose husband Paul spent his career responding to RFPs at Lockheed Martin, Iris was built to solve a problem Ben saw as generational. A Kogod School of Business alum and repeat founder, Ben is based in New York City."

"When we were looking for a partner who truly understood what it would take to elevate Iris to the next level, Navigate stood out. Ivan brings a level of domain expertise in enterprise SaaS that I haven't seen from other investors. Iris is transforming how companies respond to RFPs and create proposals, and having Navigate behind us gives me confidence that we're building toward something durable. They back founders who are solving real problems in traditional industries with AI, and that alignment has made all the difference." Ben Hills, CEO of Iris

Why We Invested

Iris addresses a critical point of friction in the sales process, where RFPs and documentation remain resource-intensive and reliant on fragmented internal knowledge. The company stood out for its clear product vision, the practical application of AI, and the exceptional strength of the team behind it. Co-investors include: Cultivation Capital, Florida Funders and Naples Technology Ventures.

We are pleased to welcome Iris to our family of portfolio companies at Navigate Ventures.