As travel inches back toward pre-pandemic levels, but potential new coronavirus variants loom, a regulatory filing indicates the start of a sizable funding round for a Columbus travel insurer.
Battleface Inc. has raised $5.2 million since late January toward a goal of $30 million, according to a Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Co-founder and CEO Sasha Gainullin was overseas and not available; typically businesses do not comment on still-open rounds to avoid prohibitions on public solicitation.
The filing does not indicate the addition of new directors besides representatives from previous investors, including a partner with Drive Capital LLC. The Columbus VC firm led a $12 million round and moved the startup from the UK at the start of 2021.
Battleface, one of Columbus Business First's Startups to Watch for 2022, was founded in 2018 by insurance industry veterans who recognized that one-size-fits-all policies no longer fit the way people travel – such as the dangers facing freelance journalists or the rise in adventure tourism. Battleface sold its first U.S. policies one year ago, added more than 50 employees through the year and set a pace to triple revenue over 2020.
"Many international destinations now require proof of travel insurance upon arrival, and many countries continue varying entry requirements due to the ongoing pandemic," Gainullin said via email in December. "Travelers need the ability to customize their own travel insurance products now more than ever, and Battleface is the only company with such flexible capabilities."
Travel spending in January was 11% below that of the same month in 2019, after December spending came close to reaching the pre-pandemic level, according to monthly data from the U.S. Travel Association. But four out of five Americans say they are excited about traveling within the coming 12 months, according to a late February weekly survey of some 1,200 travelers by Destination Analysts.
