Networking and event app Bizzabo has raised an additional $2.5 million in funding, the New York- and Israel-based startup announced today. Returning backers include Kaedan Capital, AfterDox and angel investor Gigi Levy. New investors who participated in the round are OurCrowd and Massa Group.
This brings Bizzabo’s total funding so far to $4 million. Its last round was announced in July 2012. Bizzabo, which says it has been used to organize 4,000 professional events, plans to use its new funding to add more features. It will also roll out a new event management platform later this year.
To be sure, Bizzabo, which launched in 2011, has plenty of competition. A partial list of other event management and networking apps include Meeting Application; OleaPark; and Presdo Match. Bizzabo also competes with a host of location-based networking apps.
Though Bizzabo’s updated platform won’t launch for a few more months, co-founder and CEO Eran Ben-Sushan told TechCrunch in an email that one of the things it is meant to do is help event organizers make more revenue. The new Bizzabo will also differentiate by being easier and faster to use, he added.
“Since the early days of Bizzabo, we’ve been excited about the idea and potential of bringing together conference participants, sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and event organizers in a whole different level of engagement and efficiency. During our journey we realized that there were even more cumbersome processes that were limiting what event organizers and their customers could achieve,” Ben-Sushan said.
“Our new product, through our vision, will provide a comprehensive platform allowing organizers to fully manage and more effectively monetize their events with an overall better experience for everyone taking part in their event.”