Exhibitly Raises Funding for B2B Event Innovation

Ghent-based Belgian startup Exhibitly has announced the closing of a €1.4 million pre-seed funding round. The operation was led by New School VC, with participation from 100IN, Allusion Ventures, and a group of angel investors, including prominent figures like Louis Jonckheere and Jeroen De Wit. This capital is earmarked to support the company's mission to modernize the business-to-business events sector through artificial intelligence.

Founded by Hendrik Franck and Brent Coppens, Exhibitly aims to address a growing challenge in the global trade show industry. Despite organizers heavily investing in digital marketing, conversion rates continue to decline. The reason, according to the company, lies in the overly generic experience offered by event websites, which often fail to demonstrate clear relevance to individual visitors, leading many potential attendees to leave the site without registering.

AI-Powered Personalization for a Tailored Experience

Exhibitly's solution involves adding an artificial intelligence layer to existing event websites. This allows visitors to receive a highly personalized experience, based on their role and company. Within seconds, users are shown tailored recommendations for sessions, speakers, and exhibitors that are most relevant to their specific interests.

The company emphasizes that its platform requires no complex technical integrations, as it automatically analyzes and enriches website content using AI. According to Exhibitly, visitors using the platform are significantly more likely to proceed to registration compared to those navigating traditional event websites, demonstrating the effectiveness of the personalization-driven approach.

Global Ambitions and New Product Development

Hendrik Franck, co-founder and CEO of Exhibitly, articulated the company's ambitious vision: “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.”

Currently, the startup operates from Ghent and serves customers across the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In addition to its current platform for event organizers, Exhibitly is also developing a second product focused on exhibiting companies. While the existing solution targets organizers, the new offering is aimed at the millions of businesses that exhibit at trade shows each year, significantly expanding the potential market. The new funds will be used to expand the team, accelerate product development, and support the company's international growth.

The Impact of AI in Digital Event Transformation

The investment in Exhibitly highlights a broader trend in the tech sector: the application of artificial intelligence to optimize digital interactions and improve operational efficiency. Personalization, in particular, has become a critical success factor in an increasingly crowded digital landscape. For event organizers, adopting AI solutions like Exhibitly's can translate into improved ROI on marketing investments and greater participant satisfaction.

While Exhibitly's solution integrates as a software layer on existing websites, its success underscores the value of AI in transforming traditional industries. For companies evaluating the implementation of personalization or predictive analytics systems, Exhibitly's approach offers an example of how AI can be used to solve concrete business problems. For those considering on-premise deployment of AI solutions for data sovereignty or control over processes, analyzing the trade-offs between SaaS solutions and self-hosted infrastructures remains crucial, an aspect that AI-RADAR explores in depth within its analytical frameworks.