<p>Hopin, a British-based provider of virtual events, has raised $125 million from venture capitalists, including Tiger Global and Accel, helping to drive a surge in its valuation to $2 billion from$43 million less than a year ago.</p>.<p>As the new coronavirus kept people indoors to try to contain its spread, conferences moved online, benefiting Hopin, which has 3.5 million users on its platform compared with 5,000 in February.</p>.<p>"We started the year with six people at Hopin, and we are ending the year with close to 250," Chief Executive Officer Johnny Boufarhat told Reuters.</p>.<p>The company raised $6.5 million in February and $40 million in June.</p>.<p>Other investors include IVP, Coatue, DFJ Growth, Northzone, Salesforce Ventures and Seedcamp.</p>.<p>"Backing Hopin was a no-brainer - it was one of the quickest deals we've ever agreed," said Paul Murphy, partner at Northzone.</p>.<p>Hopin, which counts the United Nations, Apple and Spotify amongst its customers, allows meeting participants to network online in new ways, exchange virtual business cards, and get a summary of their new connections after an event.</p>.<p>Boufarhat said he will only consider raising money again if Hopin decides to buy another company or invest in a new product.</p>.<p>"We are profitable now and if we can use this money and take us all the way to an IPO that would be fantastic," he said. </p>
<p>Hopin, a British-based provider of virtual events, has raised $125 million from venture capitalists, including Tiger Global and Accel, helping to drive a surge in its valuation to $2 billion from$43 million less than a year ago.</p>.<p>As the new coronavirus kept people indoors to try to contain its spread, conferences moved online, benefiting Hopin, which has 3.5 million users on its platform compared with 5,000 in February.</p>.<p>"We started the year with six people at Hopin, and we are ending the year with close to 250," Chief Executive Officer Johnny Boufarhat told Reuters.</p>.<p>The company raised $6.5 million in February and $40 million in June.</p>.<p>Other investors include IVP, Coatue, DFJ Growth, Northzone, Salesforce Ventures and Seedcamp.</p>.<p>"Backing Hopin was a no-brainer - it was one of the quickest deals we've ever agreed," said Paul Murphy, partner at Northzone.</p>.<p>Hopin, which counts the United Nations, Apple and Spotify amongst its customers, allows meeting participants to network online in new ways, exchange virtual business cards, and get a summary of their new connections after an event.</p>.<p>Boufarhat said he will only consider raising money again if Hopin decides to buy another company or invest in a new product.</p>.<p>"We are profitable now and if we can use this money and take us all the way to an IPO that would be fantastic," he said. </p>