Exhibitly bags €1.4M to modernise B2B events

Ghent-based Exhibitly has raised €1.4 million in a pre-seed
funding round led by New School VC, with participation from 100IN, Allusion
Ventures and a group of angel investors including Louis Jonckheere, Jeroen De
Wit, Pieter Vanermen and Tanguy Serraes. Additional investors include Piet van
Waes, Bernard Rossel, Stefaan Rossel, Matthias Stevens, Jürgen Degrande, Wim
Vernaeve and Arthur Stockman.

Founded by Hendrik Franck and Brent Coppens, Exhibitly
develops AI-powered personalisation technology for B2B event websites. The
company aims to address a growing challenge in the global trade show industry,
where organisers continue to invest heavily in digital marketing while
conversion rates decline. According to the company, many potential attendees
leave event websites without registering because the experience remains too
generic and fails to demonstrate clear relevance to individual visitors.

Exhibitly adds an AI layer on top of existing event
websites, allowing visitors to receive a personalised experience based on their
role and company. Within seconds, users are shown tailored recommendations for
sessions, speakers and exhibitors that are most relevant to them. The company
says visitors using the platform are significantly more likely to proceed to
registration compared to users of traditional event websites.

The platform requires no technical integrations,
automatically analysing and enriching website content using AI.

Our current solution gets us a foot in the door, but our
ambitions go further. The events industry has never been more relevant, yet it
remains years behind on technology. By the end of 2027, we aim to support more
than 1,000 events worldwide and establish Exhibitly as the global reference in
B2B event intelligence,

said Hendrik Franck, co-founder and CEO of Exhibitly.

Operating from Ghent’s Wintercircus, the startup now serves
customers across the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, Africa
and Asia. Alongside its current platform for event organisers, Exhibitly is
also developing a second product focused on exhibiting companies. While the
company’s existing solution targets organisers, the new offering is aimed at
the millions of businesses that exhibit at trade shows each year.

The new funding will be used to expand the team, accelerate product
development and support the company’s international growth.