Bizzabo, the world’s leading Event Success Platform, announced it has raised $138 million in Series E funding. The investment is led by Insight Partners, with participation from previous investors, Viola Growth, Next47, and OurCrowd. Bizzabo will use the investment to meet surging demand for its platform globally and expand its category-leading capabilities as COVID-19 reshapes the future of the professional events industry. With the round, Bizzabo sets a new precedent for the largest private investment in an event technology platform.

Without in-person events, organizations have turned to virtual conferences and trade shows to connect with customers and grow their business. With that, virtual events have enabled organizers to safely reach a wide audience, ensure event ROI, and deliver valuable data points to shape future strategies. Given the benefits, even with a COVID-19 vaccine imminent, virtual events aren’t going away anytime soon. Looking forward, events that combine in-person experiences with digital components will become the new normal.

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The Future of Event Technology

“The future of professional events isn’t virtual-only,” said Eran Ben-Shushan, CEO & Co-Founder of Bizzabo. “Our data shows very clearly that while virtual events have major benefits, attendees and businesses want to get back to live events. To stay relevant, marketers and event organizers will need to implement a hybrid strategy that blends together the best parts of virtual and in-person experiences.”

Bizzabo’s event success platform empowers organizations to manage, measure, and grow professional events across the globe and in any format — virtual, in-person, or hybrid.

“COVID-19 has permanently transformed the professional events category,” said Matt Gatto, a Managing Director at Insight Partners, who will join the Bizzabo board of directors. “Bizzabo’s impressive growth and momentum began pre-pandemic and accelerated during it as they launched the industry’s first end-to-end event technology solution. Their pedigree in both in-person and virtual events and their impressive execution capabilities have them well-positioned to lead this rapidly evolving space. We are excited to partner with their leadership team and to support them in this new phase of growth.”

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Integration of Virtual and In-Person Experiences – The New Normal of Event Industry

In the past year, Bizzabo has seen revenue explode over 100 percent. This is powered by a substantial shift upmarket in 2020, with a significant portion of its customer base coming from the enterprise segment. Bizzabo has powered events for the world’s leading Fortune 100 in eCommerce, technology, education, and media. Bizzabo’s Event Success Platform is used to support hybrid, virtual, and in-person professional events for enterprise and mid-market organizations across industries and verticals.

“Our platform has seen unprecedented demand this year,” said Ben-Shushan. “Compared to the year prior, the number of events organized through us has grown 65 percent. Additionally, the number of attendees registering for events with Bizzabo has grown 500 percent, while overall usage is up 150x. 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 organizations unlock the power of hybrid experiences.”

To meet global demand for its platform, Bizzabo will use its investment to build a comprehensive technology that successfully integrates the experiences of virtual and in-person — for both organizers and attendees. The company will also expand its go-to-market operations and triple its engineering, product, and experience teams with the opening of two new offices in Europe in the first half of 2021. In addition, Bizzabo is looking to hire over a hundred new employees, globally, in 2021.

“This investment, led by ScaleUp software investor Insight Partners, is a testament to how Bizzabo is leading the charge in the future of event technology,” added Ben-Shushan. “Events have changed overnight and event technology needs to move as quickly.”

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