Virtual Events Platform Hubilo Raises $125M Series B
Virtual events firm Hubilo has raised $125 million in a Series B funding round led by Alkeon Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Balderton Capital, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS.
The fresh infusion of capital will be used to build out Hubilo’s platform with capabilities for expanded events with deeper engagement. With this new capital, the startup’s investor funding totals $153 million in under 18 months.
Hubilo also plans to use the new funds to accelerate its global expansion efforts with the creation of new business functions and technology upgrades to its platform. The money will also help the startup continue reinforcing its engineering, product and design teams in India and its go-to-market groups in the U.S., U.K., EMEA and APAC.
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“The power to engage with massive audiences unlocks the potential of new diverse, geographically dispersed communities to exist, remote workforces to stay engaged, and organizations to rethink the way they hire and train. The potential ahead of us with this investment is massive,” said Vaibhav Jain, Hubilo's CEO and co-founder.
The company’s platform enables scalable audience engagement, giving businesses the ability to use all types of events — including sales kickoffs and career fairs — as a communications tool several times a year.
Hubilo is eyeing new sales offices in key locations and is planning to increase its workforce by 150% in order to meet customers’ demands for both virtual and hybrid events and support the company’s expansion plans.
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“We believe strongly that the global distributed workforce is a megatrend that will impact all of us in the future. It is clear that the way we collaborate and connect will need to be rearchitected in order for any global player to succeed,” said Abhi Arun, managing partner at Alkeon Capital.
The global COVID-19 pandemic and delta variant have altered how companies think about long-term event strategy, and many are making use of collaboration and communication technologies beyond expos, seminars and special occasions.
“Businesses spend over one trillion dollars of direct spending on events. In the last couple of years, 15-20% have permanently moved to digital events. These changes are permanent. I expect in the next few years that Hubilo will be broadly acknowledged as a leader in the space,” said Guru Chahal, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.