Money rolls in for virtual
THIS MONTH THE WORLD OF VIRTUAL EVENTS SAW A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY , WITH LAUNCHES AND NEW INVESTMENT ON THE CARDS . CMW ROUNDS UP THE HIGHLIGHTS
irtual platform Grip raises $ 13m Grip , a virtual event platform founded in 2016 , has raised USD $ 13m in a new round of funding .
The investment round was led by London-based growth equity fund Kennet Partners . Total funding for the platform is now at USD $ 14.5m .
Grip is used by organisers including Reed Exhibitions , Messe Frankfurt , VentureBeat , and TechCrunch . Its developers say it provides an “ omnichannel experience ” which combines virtual and hybrid events . It makes use of AI technology to increase the quality of meetings and connections at digital events .
Tim Groot , CEO and founder of Grip , commented : “ Our mission is to empower organisers to bring professionals together to advance industries . This funding round is going to enable us to take the experience to a new level , leveraging our extensive industry-leading platform , offering unique value for virtual , hybrid and in-person events .”
virtual event platform enso launches enso , a new virtual event platform that makes use of 3D avatars , has been launched by UK-based event management company The Assembly and creative technology agency Engage Works . enso allows attendees to engage with each other , exploring exhibits and auditoriums where they can view keynote speakers and seminars , and collaborative workshops .
Designed by exhibition and event organisers , enso includes exhibitor
Left : The World Indigenous Forum , hosted in enso promotion functions . Within the marketplace exhibition hall , exhibitors can select from multiple stand templates or design their own stand . These have the ability to display products with videos , image galleries , 3D models and URLs .
Michael Dynan from The Assembly said : “ 2020 has transformed the way that we collaborate and interact giving us all a mandate for change . We were disappointed by the lack of interactivity available through the existing virtual platforms and concerned that , whilst content supply was often good , the engagement between exhibitors and visitors was minimal . For a platform to be truly successful for exhibition organisers and participants this needed addressing . ixed reality platform TouchCast raises $ 55m TouchCast , a virtual event platform based in New York , has raised $ 55m in a new round of funding .
The platform brands itself as “ mixed reality ”, making use of virtual venues and interactive 3D spaces . These can be chosen from preexisting templates , or new venues can be filmed and turned into virtual spaces .
The funding was led by Accenture Ventures .
CEO Edo Segal said the company has been “ overrun by demand ” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic , and the new funding would help the company scale up its platform to meet this .
Segal commented : “ The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated the need to reimagine the way we meet , connect and collaborate with each other . Touchcast harnesses the power of AI and mixed-reality to deliver a virtual event platform that redefines how knowledge is created and shared across space and time , providing an unparalleled immersive and interactive experience .”
50 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 111