The pandemic may be (hopefully) nearing its end, but investor confidence in virtual event solutions seems to be remaining high — even as event tech unicorn Hopin’s recent high-profile layoffs led many to question the state of the virtual event space following two years of tremendous growth.
Despite these potential setbacks, new companies are still entering the market hoping to capture a piece of the pie. This week, UK-based virtual event startup Tevent announced that it has raised $2 million in seed funding from Silicon Valley investors, including Leslie Stretch, Rory Cameron, and Jimmy Duan, Medallia’s CEO, CMO, and CCO, respectively, as well as Strikedeck co-founder Shreesha Ramdas and Salesforce SVP Nathalie Scardino.
Tevent was founded right at the beginning of the pandemic and the ensuing virtual event revolution by Ahmed Amer and Alex Dobson and launched its early access public beta product in August of last year. The company’s target market is SMEs that may not be able to afford or implement other virtual tech — the platform includes all available features even on its free plan.
"We are on a mission to make connections engaging, accessible, and sustainable,” said Tevent co-founder and CEO Ahmed Amer in a statement. “Tevent gives you the tools to create engaging virtual events that facilitate meaningful interactions and lasting connections. We are working towards making remote a viable alternative and building a sociable, sustainable and connected future."
The company plans to use this new capital to scale its platform and speed up its product development by targeting niche segments. Also on its roadmap is developing mobile and desktop apps and incorporating APIs, integrations, and automation.
Tevent is now looking towards its Series A round, which it will use to launch the platform to the broader market in the UK and the US, and eventually across Europe.