Virtual events have provided a much needed lifeline amid the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a way for people and businesses around the world to interact safely. Although we’re (hopefully) coming out of the worst of this crisis, it’s become clear that our renewed reliance on virtual meetings and events was more than just a flash in the pan. In fact, the industry is expected to grow nearly 10-fold in the next decade, with a projected value of $774 billion, according to projections from Grand View Research.
As a result, the virtual events space has become increasingly busy this year, with companies like Touchcast and Bizzabo raking in millions of dollars in funding to keep up with skyrocketing demand.
Joining them now is OpenExchange, a Boston-based startup that’s been helping financial institutions put on virtual and hybrid events for more than 10 years. In the first half of 2021 alone, the company managed more than 300 conferences and nearly 85,000 virtual meetings. This represents a 170 percent and 250 percent year-over-year increase in conferences and meetings, respectively, for the company.
To keep up, the company just announced that it has raised $23 million in Series D funding. The round was co-led by Kingfisher Investment Advisors and Stonebridge Ventures, and will be used to further develop OpenExchange’s new OE VIZION platform, which just delivered its first hybrid investor event.
“Virtual investor communications are here to stay, and OpenExchange is at the very top of the game in virtual meetings, conferences, roadshows and events,” Alex Bernstein, a partner at Kingfisher said in a statement. “We are attracted to OpenExchange’s technology, team, market positioning and growth strategy, and look forward to helping them extend their position as one of the top global companies in the sector.”
The fresh funding will also be used to support future acquisitions in content development, meeting logistics, media streaming and data analytics software as OpenExchange prepares for what it expects to be the “new normal” for virtual and hybrid investor events.
“The pandemic has dramatically accelerated the adoption of virtual meeting technologies and OpenExchange has become a trusted partner for every major bank as they apply those technologies to meetings that matter,” OpenExchange CEO Mark Loehr said in a statement. “As restrictions are relaxed and in-person events resume, clients tell us through our research that they’ll continue to offer virtual attendance and presentation options for the majority of their conferences. And some sectors, like capital markets roadshows, expect to stay primarily virtual.”
