An ‘AI-powered’ video meeting provider has acquired the
events assets of Hopin, the UK-based virtual events specialists that was once
valued at an eye-watering $7.7bn.
California-based RingCentral has purchased Hopin’s
flagship virtual and hybrid events platform, Hopin Events, and its personalised
engagement tool Hopin Session.
The acquisition expands RingCentral’s virtual events
capabilities as face-to-face or ‘in-person’ business events struggle to return
to pre-pandemic attendance levels.
“This acquisition is a key next step in our journey
to deliver more personalized and engaging video meetings and events for
customers,” said Vlad Shmunis, CEO of RingCentral.
“We expect the technology and outstanding talent
from Hopin will accelerate our ability to achieve these goals and help us
differentiate our entire video portfolio.”
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
“We’ve built a world-leading events platform trusted
by both internal and customer-facing teams at large enterprises and SMBs around
the world,” said Johnny Boufarhat, founder and CEO of Hopin.
“We’re excited about RingCentral’s plans to grow and
invest in the Events and Session platforms as we continue to pursue our vision
of building a Community Suite for creators and influencers.”
Boufarhat
will stand aside as CEO and join the board, replaced by chief technology and
product officer Badri Rajasekar – founder of Jamm.
RingCentral’s video suite currently includes RingCentral
Video – a cloud-based meetings solution; RingCentral Rooms – a
cloud-based video conference room solution; and RingCentral Webinar, which allows
customer to broadcast video content to 10,000 people.
“Amidst the strong desire for a return to live
events, budget constraints have hindered pre-pandemic corporate crowd
capacities, and organizations continue to grapple with the complexities of
hosting quality hybrid meetings, often leaving remote attendees with
substandard experiences,” said Melody Brue, VP & Principal Analyst of
Modern Work at Moor Insights & Strategy. “RingCentral's acquisition of the
Hopin Events and Hopin Session platforms complements the company's video
product portfolio and helps address challenges in how people gather today. The
Hopin Events platform's maturity and its seasoned team should also position
RingCentral to evolve with how people gather virtually in the future.”
Hopin raised $1bn
in VC funding in 2019 and was valued at $7.7bn following a pandemic acquisition
spree, in which it bought five companies, including a $250m purchase of StreamYard.
However, 2022 saw the company shed almost a third of its staff as demand for virtual
events collapsed as in-person meeting returned. StreamYard and
Streamable will remain part of Hopin, which is also launching a new ‘community’
platform called Superwave.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
