US-based virtual event platform developer Bizzabo secured $138m on Wednesday in a series E round featuring industrial technology and appliance producer Siemens’ Next47 unit.
Growth equity firm Insight Partners led the round, which included equity investment platform OurCrowd and Viola Growth, the growth capital fund owned by technology investment firm Viola Group. Matt Gatto, managing director at Insight Partners, is joining Bizzabo’s board of directors.
Bizzabo provides software that facilitates virtual, on-person and hybrid events, and has experienced considerable growth in 2020 as more events have gone virtual-only due to social distancing measures.
The series E proceeds will support the company’s development of a product intended to integrate live and virtual conference experiences. It plans to triple the size of its engineering, product and experience teams as it hires a 100 new employees over the course of 20321.
Next47, Viola Growth and Pilot Growth Equity had provided $27m in series D funding for the company in April 2019, following a total of $25.5m from investors including Pilot Growth Equity, Maor Investments, LionBird, Kaedan Capital and several individuals, between 2012 and 2017.
Eran Ben-Shushan, Bizzabo’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “Our platform has seen unprecedented demand this year. Compared to the year prior, the number of events organised through us has grown 65%.
“Additionally, the number of attendees registering for events with Bizzabo has grown 500%, while overall usage is up 150-times. With a vaccine likely and more hybrid events in the future, we anticipate even greater growth.
“Bizzabo has been the category leader, experiencing hyper-growth both pre-pandemic and during the virtual transition, we are excited to continue to lead the market forward by doubling down on product, technology and user experience, to help organisations unlock the power of hybrid experiences.”
