This list of vendors features longstanding heavyweights like ON24, Cvent, and Bizzabo, along with emerging EventTech vendors such as Hopin, Airmeet, and Swapcard.
“I’ve been following this space closely during COVID but was still shocked by the sheer number of vendors that have emerged”, said the creator Fab Capodicasa, CEO of Hoosh, podcast host and industry commentator.
Dee Dee Quah, Lecturer at Taylor University’s School of Hospitality & Events says, “It shows that events are more alive than before! We have just evolved.”
While claiming the list was not comprehensive, Capodicasa said the list of vendors showed cloud-based event software startups are “blossoming at an incredible rate” and far outpacing consolidation occurring at the larger end of town. “I’ve been working in the tech industry for over 25 years and I’ve never seen such a rapid and brutal digital transformation as what happened to events in 2020.” says Capodicasa.
What’s behind this explosion?
At the heart of this trend is the devastation of in-person events, the challenge of engaging audiences virtually, and the billions of investor dollars pouring into the space.
Eric Kingstad, a judge at the Event Technology Awards, saw the EventTech 800 as verifying his belief, “that the event tech sector [has become] the Wild West.”
ON24, the leading webinar platform, raised USD$428 million through the stock market. Already publicly traded Zoom, became a household name and its stock rose from USD$19 billion to USD$139 billion.
Looking ahead, the Virtual Event industry will continue to rise in value for the rest of this decade from USD$78 billion currently to USD$774 billion by 2030 — a 10x increase (according to Grand View Research).
