[Funding alert] Virtual event platform Samaaro raises $125K in angel round

Samaaro, the Bengaluru-based tech startup that provides an innovative virtual event platform, has raised $125,000 in angel round of funding.

The angel investors who participated in the round include Richa Kar, Founder of Zivame; Naman Gupta, AVP of Swiggy; and Kedar Gavane, Senior VP of Comscore, along with senior executives from Google, Swiggy, Flipkart, High Radius, and Adda52.

The startup plans to utilise the funds for scaling the product, expanding the team through key hires, and extending its reach in the market.

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Samaaro was launched in 2020 by Purnank Prakash, Mayank Banka, and Skandha Gopalan when the pandemic crippled the trillion-dollar events industry. It enables event organisers to host events virtually and connect with global audiences.

This startup was among the Tech30 startups awarded at YourStory’s Annual flagship event, TechSparks, in 2020.

On the investment received, Purnank Prakash, CEO and Co-founder of Samaaro, said,

“Our priority in this round was to onboard investors with a strong background and varied expertise along with fundraising. I am elated that we were able to successfully achieve that.”

Ever since the start of the pandemic, there has been a growing demand for virtual event platforms. The virtual event market is valued at over $100 billion and is forecasted to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 23.2 percent till 2027, which takes the market size to $774 billion, according to Grand View Research.

On the funding into Samaaro, Naman Gupta, Assistant Vice President of Swiggy, said,

“The market potential for Samaaro is quite high. I am very excited to be onboard and join this journey with the entire team and look forward to huge success.”

Samaaro is also foraying into the hybrid event market in the coming months, which is aimed at helping organisers host events that involve both live and virtual audiences.

Samaaro provides a platform for organisations to host more than 20 types of large-scale virtual events, including virtual expos, virtual trade fairs, virtual conferences, and virtual exhibitions for multiple sectors. This startup’s platform has been used by global brands like Informa, Cisco, HSBC, Hitachi, Vodafone, etc.

Richa Kar, Founder of Zivame, said:

“Purnank, Mayank, and Skandha are building Samaaro with a very deep understanding of the event industry and its future transformation. Their vision and what they have done so far is very impressive and it is always inspiring to be a part of companies created by passionate, authentic founders.”