Virtual events platform Zuddl has raised US$13.35m in a Series A funding round.
The San Francisco-based company currently employs around 75 people and has ambitions to develop a more intuitive platform for all internal, external, hybrid or virtual activity, according to Zuddl’s co-founder and CEO, Bharath Varma. He said: “This new round of funding will enable us to continue building on the foundation we have built so far and help us achieve our next few goals. We are investing in data and integrations to enable data-driven post event decisions. We are revamping the organiser event setup experience to be simpler and more intuitive. We are doubling down on our feature set for hybrid to really break the barriers between virtual and in-person attendees. Plus, we are launching new product lines and opening an Abu Dhabi office to support the EMEA region.”
Zuddl was launched in May 2020 with customisation in mind. Planners can build a bespoke virtual venue by uploading images to various templates, adding stages, colour schemes and other drag and drop widgets as required.
Speakers have a back-stage studio where they can test their presentations and communicate with the organiser. While delegates can join smaller break-out sessions and still keep a live view of the main stage on their screen.
Additional features include a Quick Networking option where attendees can be matched with others for rapid-fire video chats, plus a Q&A/polling system, which allows audience members to be invited back-stage to speak to the organiser before going live on-stage to ask the speaker or panel a question.
The funding round was led by Alpha Wave Incubation, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, GrowX Ventures and Waveform Ventures.
