In the current scenario, virtual events are the socially-distant and cost-effective alternative to organising offline events. The pandemic has been pushing the growth of the virtual event industry, and it looks like this trend might continue; at least for the near future.
The funding
In a recent development, a London-based startup that provides live virtual events, Hopin, has raised $125M (approx €106.1M) in its Series B round of funding led by existing investor IVP and new investor Tiger Global.
According to Reuters, the company’s valuation has surged to $2B (nearly €1.7B), up from $42m less than a year ago, making it a double unicorn.
“Hopin is the fastest-growing company we have seen at this stage and has meaningfully exceeded its plan since our last investment in June,” says Jules Maltz, general partner, IVP.
Coatue and DFJ Growth also participated in this round along with Hopin’s existing investors Accel, Northzone, Salesforce Ventures, and Seedcamp.
About Hopin
Founded in 2019 by Johnny Boufarhat, Hopin is a live virtual events platform where attendees can learn, interact, and connect with people from anywhere in the world.
The platform allows users to create live online events that are interactive and personal whether they are hosting a live training workshop, bringing a company’s remote team together, or launching a full-scale digital conference.
Hopin’s platform hosts virtual events such as large-scale tech events, major international conferences, and even weddings. Attendees can network one-on-one, break out into group sessions, watch keynote presentations, send chat messages and polls, and explore interactive expo areas.
Hopin’s growth and use of fresh funds
In just eight months, the startup has seen massive growth, scaling from 5,000 registered users and 1,800 organisations hosting events on the Hopin platform to 3.5 million users and over 50,000 organisations hosting events.
In terms of team strength, the company has also grown from 8 employees to over 200 across 38 countries; it aims to hire another 150 by year’s end.
The raised capital will allow Hopin to continue to scale its platform, expand its team, meet soaring demand, continue bringing innovations online, and ultimately, make the virtual event experience as normal as physical events.
Earlier this year in June, the company had raised $40M in its Series A round. It has also added thousands of customers including Miro, NATO, The Next Web, TechCrunch, The Atlantic, Twitch, UCLA, The University of Notre Dame, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Hopin has raised about $170M (approx €144.4M) since February 2020.
Introduction of Hopin Explore
Along with its latest funding development, the company also announced the beta launch of Hopin Explore. “It’s a virtual events marketplace where individuals, communities, companies, and friends can discover and explore virtual and hybrid events from anywhere around the world,” Boufarhat says in a blog post.
Hopin Explore powers worldwide search & discovery and enable users to find events of interest across a variety of themes such as technology, entertainment, education, business & entrepreneurship, lifestyle & health, among others.
Users can search directly for the events they want to attend, or browse over 15,000 virtual events created every month spanning a variety of topics, claims the company.
According to the company, event organisers, who list their event publicly on Hopin Explore, would be able to garner more reach, revenue, and a larger audience for their events.
“Not only will this new investment allow us to improve the platform and bring new features to our community, but it will help Hopin amplify the diverse range of features and events on the platform and attract even more attendees from around the world,” says Boufarhat.
Image credit: IVP