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- Online events platform Hopin is in talks to raise around $40 million in fresh funding led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), according to two market sources with knowledge of the deal.
- Hopin is only a year old and has yet to publish its first financials, but appears to have attracted frenzied interest from backers as the coronavirus puts paid to conferences and live events.
- Hopin declined to comment to Business Insider. The London-based startup raised $6.5 million in a competitive fundraising process earlier this year from Accel, Northzone, and Seedcamp.
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Online events startup Hopin is in talks to raise an estimated $40 million in fresh funding led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), according to two market sources with knowledge of the deal.
A number of venture capital investors have held talks with Hopin in recent months, including US fund Sequoia, and the final fundraise figure could be as much as $50 million.
The two sources suggested that Hopin could be worth as much as $350 million pre-money, a high valuation for a company only established in June 2019 and which has yet to publish its first financials. Negotiations are ongoing and no figures or terms are final.
The deal comes just months after the company's first institutional funding round of $6.5 million in February, and as venture capital investors scramble to back startups that could capitalize on the new post-pandemic reality.
Hopin declined to comment. IVP did not respond to a request for comment.
Hopin, headquartered in London, allows users to host events and conferences online. It is thought the company's business has boomed during the pandemic since most large global events and conferences have moved online. Startup investors hope to find the next Zoom, the video call platform whose share price has more than tripled during 2020.
Early-stage funds Seedcamp and France's The Family moved meetings entirely to Hopin at the advent of lockdown in Europe. Hopin's previous fundraise was led by Accel and Northzone, along with Seedcamp.
Hopin has grown its wait-list considerably and hired new staff, the company's founder and CEO Johnny Boufarhat previously told Business Insider. "Hopin was built out of the idea of connecting people and tries to solve a clear problem, Boufarhat said in February. "We think we will be the fastest-growing startup in the world."
Unusually, Boufarhat has met very few of his team in person, preferring to work and hire virtually.
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