Meetings startup Bizzabo gained momentum in Covid-ravaged 2020, attracting $138 million in funding last December and acquiring three companies in 2021 in the wake of that capital infusion. The New York City, Tel Aviv and Kyiv-based company maneuvered through the meetings and events tide change to a hybrid strategy that now encompasses in-person, virtual and a combination of both.
At the end of 2020, co-founder and CEO Eran Ben-Shushan said the number of events organized through the Bizzabo platform had grown 65 percent during the event downturn. He cited “unprecedented demand” that increased attendees by 500 percent over 2019. It claims more than 80 percent of its volume comes from enterprise clients.
Those kinds of numbers drew investment led by Insight Partners with re-ups from previous investors Viola Growth, Next47 and OurCrowd. Bizzabo converted that money into a European expansion, opening a London office and hiring a new VP of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa. It also converted four key acquisitions in 2021.
The company made three acquisitions this year to bolster the virtual attendee experience. Artificial intelligence-powered scheduling tool X.ai recommends and schedules one-on-one meetings for virtual meetups, while Swedish technology startup Whalebone “humanizes digital interactions” by simulating crowd-generated audio for virtual attendees to enhance the sensory experience as well as offer a better feedback loop. TeeVid, the third acquisition, brought production studio capabilities to the Bizzabo tech stack.
Bizzabo also enhanced its offerings by purchasing wearable tech firm Klik, which offers Bluetooth-powered technology that tracks in-person attendee engagement and generates relevant, real-time recommendations to enhance the onsite experience.
All of these acquisitions underscored the critical nature of the meeting and event experience—both virtual and in-person—as the industry moves toward a hybrid future. It’s a future that has caught the imagination of investors in terms of how companies like Bizzabo will disrupt and reinvigorate the sector.
“It’s not just about meetings,” said Eran Ben-Shushan in a statement. “There is a massive demand for personalization and matchmaking.” Such technologies will make meetings more purposeful and productive—and offer more justification to attend virtually or in person.