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One of Europe’s most valuable start-ups, the digital events platform has raised more than $1bn since February 2020.
Hopin’s lightspeed growth has seen the company secure $450m in Series D funding mere months after a similarly significant Series C round.
Founded in June 2019, Hopin was a six-month old team of six at the beginning of last year, before the world was transformed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As business, networking and live experiences moved online, the virtual events platform went from supporting a few hundred event creators to working with more than 100,000 organisations welcoming millions of virtual attendees every month. It now employs more than 800 people in 47 countries on a remote-first basis.
Hopin’s Series D round is co-led by Arena Holdings and Altimeter Capital. Both are new investors for the company, which has also secured first-time investment from Adams Street Partners, Untitled Investments and XN in this round. Previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, DFJ Growth, Salesforce Ventures, Slack Fund, Temasek and Tiger Global also returned for this round.
After a $400m Series C in March, Hopin hit a valuation of $5.65bn. It is now valued at $7.75bn having raised more than $1bn since February 2020.
The company’s soaring success follows more than a year of virtual events and puts Hopin in a strong position for a future tipped to see more hybrid experiences.
“The pandemic has forever changed how companies and communities interact and connect with their audiences and each other,” said Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital.
Hopin will use this latest round of funding to further grow the platform and invest in new technologies and product suites.
The London-headquartered unicorn has also been snapping up other businesses to supercharge its growth and add to its offering.
Its list of acquisitions include video hosting provider Streamable, video streaming studio StreamYard and video tech company Jamm. Buying out Boomset brought the company out of the virtual event box with the addition of on-site capabilities for hybrid events. It also acquired Attendify, a SaaS start-up with tools for event marketing and engagement, and CNBC reports that Hopin is planning to launch digital video marketing services.
Founder and CEO Johnny Boufarhat started the company after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that would require him to limit interactions with crowds. He now wants Hopin to continue growing with the priority to make live events and experiences “accessible to all”.
“Hopin started with the goal of giving people more options for meaningful connection,” said Boufarhat. “Hopin plans to be wherever important conversations and connections happen.”
