The boom after the Zoom
CMW SPEAKS TO THE CEOS OF MAJOR VIRTUAL EVENT PLATFORMS , TO FIND OUT HOW SUSTAINABLE THE SECTOR ’ S CURRENT FINANCIAL BOOM IS
irtual event platforms have seen a meteoric rise since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic , which has accelerated a digitalisation of events which was already well underway before its arrival .
In the past month alone there have been new launches and fundraising activity for companies in the sector , some of which CMW rounds up overleaf on page 50 . enso , a new platform which runs virtual events in a 3D space using videogame technology , was launched . At the same time , funds in the tens of millions of dollars were raised by existing platforms TouchCast and Grip .
Big players like HopIn also continue to go from strength to strength – the company recently made a USD $ 250m acquisition of video streaming service StreamYard , rolling its video offering into the HopIn platform . Meanwhile , online event platform Swapcard acquired registration service Avolio for an undisclosed fee .
But is the exponential financial growth of these platforms sustainable ? And will the entrance of new players shake up the market , as ongoing consolidation sees the big fish snap up the smaller ones ?
Michael Dynan , CEO of The Assembly Works and one of the founders of the enso platform , is optimistic about their prospects . “ This is going to be here to stay ,” says Dynan . “ I think the people who are backing virtual event companies with big money can see the direction the future is moving in . Big companies we ’ re talking to are not planning on returning to high levels of global travel any time soon .”
Dynan was previously based in the China office of Media 10 , a UK exhibition organiser . He says the Asian audience has been receptive to virtual event tech even before the pandemic , and allowed him to see its potential . “ I expect the virtual event market will gravitate towards platforms that offer greater interactivity ,” he says . “ By offering features like avatars , group chat with distanced audio that gets louder the closer you are , and realistic virtual spaces , you can get closer to a digital event than you can just staring at a video call .”
Tim Groot , CEO of Grip , says he expects the trend of consolidation to continue as the market evolves : “ We are seeing the focus shift to the big engagement platforms , and adjacent services are being picked up and acquired , such as HopIn ’ s acquisition of StreamYard . I think this will definitely continue going forwards .”
This isn ’ t the only change Groot has seen in the market - over the past 12 months , he says , there has been a shift from content creation to networking . “ In the beginning organisers were focused on creating virtual events just to get something out , to fill the gaps . But now the focus is shifting to networking , to revenue , to really providing some value from these events . They ’ re realising they ’ re not just content creators – they bring together communities , and that needs to be replicated online .”
Dynan shares Groot ’ s sentiment about consolidation of the market , and says he also expects this will continue apace . “ That ’ s just the way the world
48 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 111