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    Airmeet, a virtual events platform, gets $35 million from Prosus, others

    Synopsis

    Airmeet, which helps organise virtual events and conferences, will use the funds to expand its footprint in the global market, invest in R&D and scale its go-to-market function.

    Startup FundingETtech
    Virtual events platform Airmeet has raised $35 million in its Series B round, led by Prosus Ventures and Sistema Asia Fund.

    RingCentral Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, DG Daiwa Ventures and Nexxus Global also participated in the funding round, alongside existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Accel India.

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    Airmeet, which helps organise virtual events and conferences, will use the funds to expand its footprint in the global market, invest in R&D and scale its go-to-market function, a senior company executive told ET. “The company is clocking an annualised revenue run rate of $5 million and is expected to grow to $20 million in next 12-18 months,” Lalit Mangal, cofounder and chief executive, said.

    In 2020, the company had raised $12 million from Sequoia Capital.

    Founded in 2019 by Lalit Mangal, Manoj Singh and Vinay Kumar Jaasti, Airmeet helps businesses, associations, educational institutions, SMEs, communities, and government organisations establish touchpoints with their global audience through event experiences.

    Customer engagement has been fast evolving into a space that needs to go beyond traditional channels, Mangal said. “Brands have to start conversations and engage with customers without losing their human touch in the virtual space. Our mission has always been to focus on engagement and assist businesses with scaling their customer engagement through multiple interactive event formats,” he said.

    The company said it had increased recurring revenue 24X in the last year and has been growing at 30% month on month. It has enabled more than 120,000 event organisers to stream 150 million minutes of video airtime globally, it said.

    “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought in a marked shift in the way we work, the way we interact with customers, employees, and other stakeholders. This shift has accelerated the adoption of agile and virtual solutions to cater to business needs,” said Ashutosh Sharma, head of investments, India, at Prosus Ventures.

    The company’s key customers include Flipkart, Fifth Element Group, BMF Media, Unifrog Education, NPower Inc, University College London, Rotman School of Management, Zircom (Shell Oil), Viacom CBS, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Minnesota State University, Mankato, and First3Years.

    “The global market for virtual events has grown to become a $110 billion opportunity aided by the new realities of work, networking, and marketing,” said Sumit Jain, senior partner at Sistema Asia Fund.

    “This pandemic has shifted the way companies engage with various stakeholders (customers, employees, etc.) to digital given the efficiency and immersive experience associated with it,” said Abhishek Mohan, principal at Sequoia Capital India.
    The Economic Times

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