Online events platform Delegate Connect raises $10 million seed round

An events platform for the pandemic era, which connects conference delegates at virtual and hybrid events on any device, has raised $10 million in a seed round.

Airtree Ventures led the raise for Delegate Connect, writing its largest seed cheque in the fund’s history.

Also chipping in were Skip Capital, the private fund of Kim Jackson and Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar, Steve Baxter’s syndicate fund TEN13, as well as Linktree co-founder and CEO Alex Zaccaria, and Go1 founder Andrew Barnes.

The company will use the funds for international growth and increase the current headcount of 45 in Melbourne, London and Norway offices to more than 100 by the end of the year. A US office is also on the cards in the next few months.

Unsurprisingly, the Delegate Connect event platform has seen rapid uptake during the pandemic with a client base that includes Startmate, Sportsbet, Australian Border Force and the World Dental Congress, and is focused on medical, pharmaceutical, industry associations for events.

CEO Jordan Walsh, who co-founded the tech startup with Jacob Thomas, said they expect to see increased demand for Delegate Connect’s hybrid tech platform to increase as the world emerges from lockdowns as part of a longer-term shift to virtual and hybrid events.

“We have clients around the world who love using our platform because it is built to solve the exact problems they are faced with,” he said.

“With the incredible demand we’re seeing for our services from overseas, we’re looking forward to building out our teams there to be closer to our customers and continue to provide an end-to-end solution for events globally.”

Walsh said the technology allows for unlimited delegates, sponsors and exhibitors, with the platform available in multiple languages, with sophisticated networking capabilities, sponsor and exhibitor interactions, and detailed analytics and reporting, as well as post-event video on demand hosting and CPD tracking.

“In August, the World Library and Information Congress was held on the Delegate Connect platform, attracting 4,000 delegates,” he said.

“Our technology was able to deliver the whole 3-day conference live across 3 different time zones and in 7 different languages. Bringing on an incredible group of investors enables us to continue to push the limits of what is possible in event technology, and we are so excited to share some of the world-first features that we will be launching over the coming months.”

AirTree Ventures partner John Henderson said he’d heard from Delegate Connect customers about how much they love the product.

“The rapid adoption of virtual and hybrid events in the past 18 months represents a structural shift going forward. Delegate Connect’s end-to-end technology is differentiated from their off-the-shelf competitors, delivering a high-quality, location-agnostic experience that maximises engagement for attendees,” he said.

“The team has had undeniable traction, and we’re looking forward to seeing this continue as they expand internationally.”