London-based startup OnePlan raises $6M to digitally map venues for event planning

Global event and venue platform OnePlan has closed $6 million to a new strategic investment led by Elysian Park Ventures and Verance Capital. The startup will use the fresh cash infusion to accelerate its plan to support live event venues, with a focus on the sporting venue market.

The funding news comes almost a year after the company raised secured £4.1M in Series A from Eppes Creek Ventures and Pembroke VCT. In conjunction with the funding, OnePlan also announced it has recently hired a Director in North America based in Los Angeles as the company continues to grow in the US.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Paul Foster, the London-based OnePlan provides proprietary groundbreaking 3D digital mapping tools that allow venue planners to expertly and seamlessly organize live events of all sizes – from marathons to music festivals, cycling races, football games, and triathlons.

Since its inception four years ago, OnePlan’s technology has been used to power over 25,000 of the world’s best live events at iconic venues in 107 countries, including Intuit Dome, home of the LA Clippers, Silverstone, as well as USA Triathlon. OnePlan is the Official Supporter of GIS Mapping and Digital Twin Software for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

Commenting on the funding, Foster said: “We’re honored to have the support of Elysian Park Ventures and Verance Capital as we further our mission of revolutionizing the events and venues industry the world over. It’s heartening to see how our customers, at some of the biggest venues in the world, get immediate operational and security benefits from using OnePlan, along with significant commercial gains.”

With OnePlan, venues can leverage automated real-time data intelligence to plan for and measure crowd capacity and safety, arrival and exit flow optimal placement for stages or marquees, and even the right placement of refuse facilities.

OnePlan’s digital twin product, Venue Twin, gives organizers virtual access to real-world venues, opening new opportunities for venue owners and operators. In addition to the operational planning benefits, Venue Twin can be used as a sales and marketing tool for advertisers, sponsors, and fans, and enables third-party licensing of official virtual venues as consumer applications for the metaverse open up. The platform is leveraged by World Triathlon, World Obstacle, Sunderland Association Football Club, and more.

“Venues, and particularly sporting venues, play such an important role in our communities by providing spaces for communities to gather and celebrate,” said Ami Galani, Venture Partner with Elysian Park Ventures. “OnePlan’s immersive 2D and 3D digital twinning provide game-changing tools to create rich experiences. We are excited by how OnePlan gives access to this powerful platform to the broadest set of live event planners, from the largest of global events to local community events.”

OnePlan’s competitors include Slingshot Simulations, a spinout from the University of Leeds, which recently raised £3m in Series A funding in January of this year.