Seattle-based SaaS startup Banzai scores $7M Series A funding to simplify event marketing

Banzai, a Seattle, Washington-based cloud software-as-a-service provider of Event Marketing Automation solutions for enterprise marketers, today announced that it has raised $7 million to double its headcount and to expand its product and service offerings in the Event Marketing Automation category. The round, which was in the form of equity financing, was led by DNX Ventures, with participation from Vulcan Capital, the multi-billion-dollar investment arm of Vulcan Inc.

Founded in 2015 by Alexey Melnichenko, Andy Linteau, Joe Davy, Banzai is a cloud software-as-a-service company that provides Event Marketing Automation software used by companies like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle. Banzai connects people to life-changing experiences. Its suite of Event Marketing Automation solutions maximize audience reach, simplify event invitations, increase the quality of registrations, and prove ROI for field marketers through a single platform.

Since its launch in 2017, Banzai has quickly become the go-to solution for Event Marketing Automation. More than 200 leading companies such as Dell, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle use Banzai to streamline their registration process and to drive attendance for regional and field marketing events.

Using Banzai’s end-to-end event marketing automation solution, Banzai customers have generated over 30,000 event and conference registrations around the world. In 2019, Banzai doubled its topline revenue, supported 1,400 unique customer events, and grew its team by 200 percent.

“Events are the single largest marketing expense for companies today, with half a trillion dollars spent each year,” said Joe Davy, Banzai CEO. “There has been almost no innovation in the Event Marketing Automation category. Professionals want to be reached through powerful experiences, and companies will need to adopt new solutions to reach their customers.”

“Event marketing represents the largest budget category for marketers, and the Event Marketing Automation industry is ripe for a technological revolution,” said Mitch Kitamura, Managing Director at DNX Ventures. “Banzai has created a differentiated solution that is already becoming a standard. The process of event marketing – including audience targeting, invitations, and confirming registrations – is a logistical nightmare that keeps field marketers awake at night. With this new capital, Banzai will be able to scale up to serve more customers and expand its product offering.”