Artificial intelligence investment is reshaping the technology sector, with infrastructure software and AI-enabled platforms benefiting from rising enterprise demand. Patrick Walravens says companies tied to communications, cloud infrastructure and AI-powered corporate travel are positioned to gain from the ongoing shift toward AI adoption.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Patrick Walravens, director of technology research and equity research analyst at Citizens, about his top technology sector picks — Twilio, DigitalOcean and Navan — and why he believes each company is benefiting from accelerating growth tied to AI infrastructure and automation trends.
Key Takeaways
- Walravens says infrastructure software companies are better positioned than many application software firms to benefit from the ongoing AI buildout.
- Twilio is benefiting from rising demand for AI voice and messaging agents as businesses integrate more automation into customer communications.
- DigitalOcean is targeting AI-native companies with simplified cloud infrastructure tools and is forecasting accelerating revenue growth.
- Navan uses AI to streamline corporate travel booking, reducing friction for employees while challenging traditional travel agency models.
- Walravens says investors should focus on software companies showing accelerating revenue growth as AI adoption expands.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: It’s time now for Hot Picks, and today we are zeroing in on the technology sector. Our next guest has Twilio, a cloud communications company, as his top pick. Let’s welcome Patrick Walravens, director of technology research and equity research analyst at Citizens. It’s great to have you join us. Good morning.
PATRICK: Hi. Good morning, Lindsay. Nice to be here.
LINDSAY: Yeah, it’s great to have you. You have a couple of different technology picks, which is interesting. We’ll start with the first one, obviously, Twilio. Tell us what you like about it.
PATRICK: Sure. If I can, I’ll take a step back for a second.
LINDSAY: Yeah, of course.
PATRICK: I focus on software, and software has been very challenging because we’re going through this huge platform shift from SaaS to AI. The average software company is down 30 per cent year to date. But I do think investors have been throwing some of the babies out with the bathwater, and I think there are some really good opportunities. I gave you three ideas, and the first one is Twilio.
LINDSAY: Yeah, it is an interesting conversation, what we’ve seen so far with the software sector. I’m assuming these three picks are going to be the ones that make it through this whole shift to AI, right? Because I believe there are some companies in the software sector that just won’t, and some that will.
PATRICK: Exactly. Very big picture, you’re better off with infrastructure software than you are with applications. There are some things in applications that are working, but infrastructure generally should continue to benefit from the AI buildout. Another good trick for investors is to look at whether companies are accelerating their growth.
Take Twilio, for example. Twilio, for anyone who doesn’t know, is basically a communications network, and it powers text messages and voice for businesses. As businesses start to implement AI agents, those agents still need to communicate with people. They still need to send text messages and handle voice interactions. As a result, Twilio’s business has really been accelerating.
LINDSAY: Interesting. Is there any headwind for Twilio?
PATRICK: Two quarters ago, they grew 14 per cent. Last quarter, they reported 20 per cent growth. The stock is up 37 per cent year to date, and I think it can really keep going. This trend of voice agents is just getting started, so I think we have a couple of good years of tailwinds behind Twilio.
LINDSAY: Your next one is DigitalOcean. Tell us a little bit more about this cloud infrastructure provider and why you think it’s a good pick.
PATRICK: Yeah, this one is fascinating. DigitalOcean stock is up 230 per cent year to date. Investors will look at that chart and think it has already moved a lot, but I still think it has quite a ways to go. Right before coming on, it was trading at about US$158, and we have an upside case of US$245.
This is like an easy-to-use Amazon Web Services platform specifically designed for AI-native companies. Obviously, Amazon Web Services is a juggernaut, but it is complex. DigitalOcean has found a real niche serving AI-native companies by making its platform easy to use and pricing easy to understand.
The company accelerated from 18 per cent growth last quarter to 22 per cent growth this quarter, and it’s talking about growing north of 50 per cent next year.
LINDSAY: Wow, that’s a lot of growth.
PATRICK: That one is off the radar, but it’s a great one.
LINDSAY: Your last pick — is it pronounced Navan?
PATRICK: Yeah, Navan. This is another one people really don’t know. It’s an application software company that uses a ton of AI, and what it does is corporate travel using AI.
For example, at Citizens, we have 25,000 employees, and we now book our corporate travel using Navan. Imagine having a corporate travel app that knows your favourite airline, your status and your preferred hotel chain. It used to take me 20 to 25 minutes to book a trip, and it would often require me to call our travel agent. Now I can do it in three to four minutes on my phone.
LINDSAY: Wow. A lot of growth for these companies. I’ll ask the same question for Navan — any challenges, risks or headwinds you see for this company?
PATRICK: What people worry about with Navan is that it’s going to be disrupted by AI. What people are missing is that Navan is actually the one disrupting corporate travel agencies.
If you look at businesses like American Express Global Business Travel, which was recently sold to private equity, those kinds of businesses with all of those agents are the ones being disrupted by Navan.
LINDSAY: Very interesting stuff. We’ll have to leave it there. Patrick Walravens, director of technology research and equity research analyst at Citizens. Really appreciate you coming on. Thanks so much.
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| DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| TWLO NYSE | N | N | Y |
| DOCN NYSE | N | N | Y |
| NAVN NASDAQ | N | N | Y |
This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the May 8, 2026 interview with Patrick Walravens are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
