Faye, a travel insurance firm with roots in Israel, said it has raised $31 million in Series B funding led by Portage, a global venture firm with offices in New York. Other participants included Australia- and Israel-based Lumir Ventures, along with three existing investors — Europe’s F2 Ventures, Israel’s Viola Ventures and San Francisco-based Munich Re Ventures. So far, Faye has raised $49 million.
Co-founded in 2019 by CEO Elad Schaffer and chief technology officer Daniel Green, Faye has combined technology with insurance and healthcare to offer a broad range of services to tourists. With U.S. headquarters in Richmond, Va., Faye plans to use the funding to expand its offices in New York, Florida and California, and to develop new products.
Tech-driven
“We are excited to move into a new phase of growth, creating a robust platform for looking after travelers throughout their entire journey,” said Schaffer, who has a law degree and MBA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
“Those hitting the road with Faye will receive the best insurance experience with our tech-driven holistic coverage and care that enables smarter and smoother trips through personalized travel and financial solutions,” added Schaffer, who previously co-founded and ran Wikistrat, termed the world’s first crowdsourced consulting platform.
Faye enables customers to initiate insurance claims via a mobile app. The company also runs a user wallet that helps it settle “claims instantly to your phone, so that you can use them like you use your Apple Pay to pay for things,” Schaffer told TechCrunch. It also plans to add varied financial assistance to Faye Wallet.
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Growth Momentum
For the past two years, Faye said, sales have grown over 10X year-over-year. Leveraging key travel industry partnerships, it is targeting a five-fold growth in revenue in 2024.
Portage Ventures, which focuses on fintech, said it was excited to see Faye marry travel and fintech solutions to deliver holistic care to travelers.
“This is an underserved and often overlooked market with untapped value to capture,” said Stephanie Choo, a Portage Ventures partner who has joined Faye board.
