Event Tech News Roundup – January 2025

The event tech sector kicked off 2025 with a wave of consolidation as established players expanded their capabilities through strategic acquisitions. The deals span group dining, virtual events, and accommodation management solutions, while new AI-powered tools promise to streamline everything from lead generation to event production.

Here's your essential briefing on the deals and developments shaping the industry.

Acquisitions

Bizly acquired Kapow from Hello! Destination Management to strengthen its group dining and corporate events capabilities. Kapow, which previously raised over $40M in venture funding, will be integrated into Bizly's AI-powered platform by Q3 2025. The acquisition aims to address the growing demand for smaller, intimate corporate dining events and help companies better manage related spend. Read more details here.

bnetwork acquired Groupcorner's congress accommodation management division to strengthen its position in event accommodation solutions. bnetwork, which supports over 200 events annually across 40 destinations, will integrate Groupcorner's congress business while Groupcorner focuses on its Backyou hotel software platform.

Events.com acquired virtual events platform Remo. The Remo brand and product will continue operating, with the integration aimed at building a comprehensive event management solution spanning both virtual and in-person experiences.

InviteDesk acquired German event app platform LineUpr to expand its event marketing software capabilities. LineUpr will continue as a separate product initially, with plans for integration into InviteDesk's broader offering. The acquisition strengthens InviteDesk's presence in over 20 countries and adds mobile event app functionality to its event marketing suite.

Investments

Amadeus IT Group made a strategic minority investment in hivr.ai, an AI-powered meetings and groups sales platform. The companies will explore integration opportunities with Amadeus' Delphi sales and catering solution. hivr.ai's technology automates manual workload in group sales, aiming to reduce hotel response times from 48-96 hours and improve conversion rates.

Product Launches

Map Your Show unveiled Sales Accelerator, an AI-powered tool that helps trade show exhibitors maximize ROI through intelligent lead scoring and engagement. The system analyzes attendee behavior data to rank leads, identify additional contacts within prospect companies, and generate personalized follow-up emails.

Onyx CenterSource debuted OnyxInsights, a business intelligence platform for hotels and travel agencies offering benchmarking and analytics tools. The platform features interactive dashboards for commission payment tracking, ADR analytics, and market share insights.

RingCentral launched Studio, a new capability within RingCentral Events that enables real-time streaming and professional event production from a single interface. Studio features are available immediately at no extra cost to RingCentral Events customers. The company also introduced AI Clips, which auto-generates highlight reels from event recordings. Notable features include real-time streaming with no delay, private backstage chat, and advanced branding options.

Product Updates

RainFocus launched its Destination Connector integration with Adobe Experience Cloud, enabling two-way data flow between the platforms. The solution complements RainFocus' existing Source Connector and allows for more personalized event experiences through real-time customer behavior data exchange. RainFocus, an Adobe Platinum Partner, also integrated with Adobe Acrobat Sign to streamline event contract management.