Glisser Announces New Investment Round Even as Virtual Event Interest Slows

With the strong return to in-person events so far in 2022, many event tech providers have seen their growth slow when compared to the last few years, particularly as inflation and other factors drive up costs and hybrid events become less feasible for many organizations.

However, virtual options aren’t going anywhere —even if some organizers may currently be prioritizing in-person — and investors remain confident in the staying power of virtual. New platforms are still launching in what is already a very saturated market, and others are acquiring additional funding.

Case in point: UK-based event tech provider Glisser announced a new investment round this week from UK venture capital firms Downing Ventures and Gresham House, although the amount of the investment was not disclosed.

The company stated that it plans to use this new funding to expand the development of Glisser Elements SDK, which it launched last year. This functionality allows users to embed elements of Glisser’s platform, including video streaming, slide-sharing, and audience engagement features, into their own websites and intranets to easily created branded events without needing to use a completely separate platform.

It remains to be seen how the mix of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events evens out over the next few months and years as the excited rush back to in-person subsides, but Glisser is taking an interesting approach to the future of event tech by enabling a more seamless integration of virtual event capabilities within organizations’ own online environments. It is one of the first to do so, but others may soon follow suit.

“As we transition out of numerous lockdowns, businesses globally are realigning their working environments and travel policies to meet this new way of working,” said Michael Piddock, CEO of Glisser, in statement. “Virtual and hybrid meetings now have a permanent place in their communications and marketing channels, and we’re innovating to support that. It’s a very interesting time for us at Glisser as we embark on the next stage of our growth journey.”