ON24, which provides services to allow companies to host events in virtual worlds, as well as more conventional methods of communication such as webinars, has raised over $8 million in funding in equity and expansion capital. The venture round was led by U.S. Venture Partners, Canaan Partners and Rho Ventures. Gold Hill Partners led the expansion capital financing. ON24 have now raised over $46 million.
The main purpose of the financing is to ‘accelerate ON24’s global expansion of the sales, marketing and client services organizations; and product development initiatives, including ON24 Virtual Show and the company’s flagship webcasting platform.’ So they’re spending it on everything, apparently. The big news, however, is the development of the recently launched Virtual Show. This is a comprehensive platform which allows companies to host professional events within virtual worlds, like trade shows and job fairs, which integrate with more traditional content such as webinars.
The hype period of such events is over, and one could argue that now is the time for the real work to begin. ON24 cite environmental concerns and the economic downturn as key reasons why virtual worlds events will become more popular, and as it becomes easier (most crucially, cheaper) for the ‘average’ enterprise to put on an event in a virtual world there is certainly scope for growth in the sector. They cite an impressive range of clients, including IBM, Cisco and the US Dept for Education, suggesting that their message of ‘events 2.0’ is being responded to positively.
It will be fascinating to see the development of virtual events in this post-hype era as decisions are based not on the desire for a short-term PR boost, but on longer-term cost and marketing benefits.
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