Bizly
Palo Alto, US · 9 known investors
Bizly provides a platform and expert services to help companies find event venues, manage meetings, and plan corporate events. The service simplifies event planning for modern businesses of all sizes.
Also known as Bizly, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Board
Investors · 9
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$18.1M disclosed across 4 rounds · 2016–2025
▶$1.8MraisedFeb 2026 · 37 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Ron ShahExecutive Officer, Director
- Ryan ChouDirector
- Offering amount
- $1.8M
- Amount sold
- $1.8M
- First sale
- May 2025
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$13.9MraisedApr 2023 · 84 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Ron ShahExecutive Officer, Director
- Steve TaubDirector
- Offering amount
- $14M
- Amount sold
- $13.9M
- First sale
- Jan 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$2.1MraisedMay 2018 · 33 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Ron ShahExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $3.5M
- Amount sold
- $2.1M
- First sale
- Mar 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$400KraisedFeb 2016 · 9 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Ron ShahExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $1.5M
- Amount sold
- $400K
- First sale
- Jan 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Bizly operates an enterprise platform for planning and executing in-person corporate meetings and events. The product covers venue sourcing, event planning and agenda building, guest management and RSVP tracking, hotel room block management, budget tracking and reporting. The company states its network spans more than 1 million venues globally, including hotels and resorts, restaurants, bars and lounges, meeting rooms, banquet halls, conference centers, theaters, coworking spaces, museums and galleries, wineries and breweries, rooftops and other unique spaces. Event types supported include product launches, training sessions, conferences and summits, executive retreats, private dinners, sales kick-offs, holiday parties, happy hours, press conferences, focus groups, investor meetings and networking mixers.
Alongside the self-serve software, Bizly runs a Concierge team that works with venues on the customer's behalf to obtain proposals and handle contract details. Enterprise capabilities include pre-loaded contracts, approval workflows, meeting-policy compliance, spend visibility and reporting, positioning the platform for travel managers and procurement teams as well as professional and occasional event planners. The company describes AI-driven tools for venue and vendor discovery, with an agent-based mechanism that can generate a venue listing on demand when a specific property is searched by name.
In February 2025 Bizly acquired Kapow, a group dining and experiential events marketplace, from Hello! Destination Management, adding curated restaurant and experiential venue inventory and package capabilities to its platform.
Business model
Bizly sells a software platform with accompanying concierge services to corporate customers, and separately monetizes venues through tiered annual listing subscriptions. Venue plans listed on its site range from a free basic listing with lead routing and RFP management, to $240/year (enhanced listing and top ranking for small events in a metro area), $1,200/year Premium (top ranking for small and medium events, proactive RFP bidding) and $2,800/year Preferred (top ranking for all events in a metro area, promoted placement, priority support). Enterprise engagements are sold via demo requests and an implementation team.
Annual venue subscription tiers (free, $240, $1,200 and $2,800 per year) plus enterprise platform access, with free access offered to teams with upcoming events.
Traction
The company states its platform reaches more than 1 million venues globally and cites enterprise use by McDonald's. Its acquired Kapow business had served thousands of corporate customers, including Fortune 500 companies, since 2011.
Latest developments
Following the February 2025 Kapow acquisition, Bizly is rolling out Kapow's group dining venues to existing customers in phases and plans full integration of the marketplace into its core platform by Q3 2025, extending spend visibility for travel and procurement managers into group dining.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Bizly positions itself against event platforms such as Cvent and Luma by focusing on end-to-end sourcing and booking of venues and room blocks for in-person corporate meetings rather than registration and ticketing. Trade press describes it as a venue booking and meeting management platform expanding into group dining, a segment the company characterizes as the fastest-growing and most underserved part of corporate events.
Combination of a large global venue network with a human Concierge sourcing team, enterprise controls (pre-loaded contracts, approval workflows, policy compliance, spend reporting) and coverage of both venue booking and room blocks in one workflow, with AI-assisted sourcing.
Technology
A web platform combining venue search across a stated network of over 1 million venues with agenda building, guest and RSVP management, room block management and budget tracking. The company describes AI-driven tools for venue and vendor recommendation, budgeting, compliance and attendee engagement, plus an intelligent agent that can create a venue listing when a property is searched by name. Bizly lists SOC2 Type II certification.
Go-to-market
Enterprise sales driven by demo requests and a dedicated implementation team, combined with a product-led motion offering free access to teams with upcoming events (the company lists a Head of PLG). Venues are recruited through free and paid listing tiers, and industry press coverage supports awareness.
Corporate event planners, travel managers and procurement teams at organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to fast-growing startups; also travel management and event management companies, and venues that list on the marketplace. McDonald's is cited as a customer.
Geography
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with a venue network described as worldwide, spanning major cities such as New York and London as well as smaller markets, and international examples including Tokyo and the Swiss Alps.
History
Bizly operates the AI-powered corporate meetings and events platform from Palo Alto, California. On February 4, 2025 it announced the acquisition of Kapow, previously the largest online group dining platform, from Hello! Destination Management in a cash-and-equity deal with undisclosed terms. Kapow, founded in 2011, had raised over $40 million in venture funding, was acquired by Cvent in 2018 and sold to Hello! Destination Management in 2020. Bizly said Kapow's marketplace would be fully integrated into its core platform by Q3 2025, with the standalone Kapow brand phased out; no full-time staff transferred, though some former Kapow team members were retained as contractors.
Risks & controversies
Integration risk around folding the acquired Kapow marketplace into the core platform by Q3 2025 while phasing out the Kapow brand, with no full-time Kapow staff transferring and only some former team members retained as contractors.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 4
by search overlap
Companies competing with Bizly for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsBizly announced the acquisition of Kapow, formerly the largest online group dining platform, from Hello! Destination Management in a cash and equity-based deal; financial terms were not disclosed. Kapow's marketplace is to be fully integrated into Bizly's core platform by Q3 2025, with the standalone brand phased out and some former Kapow staff retained as contractors.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Bizlybizly.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Bizly do?
- Bizly is an AI-powered corporate meetings and events platform for sourcing venues, booking room blocks and managing events.
- Who are Bizly's investors?
- Bizly's investors include Expansion Venture Capital, Frontier Ventures, Global Brain, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, MetaProp, MetaProp Ventures, SKY VC, FJ Labs and 1 more.
- How much funding has Bizly raised?
- Bizly has disclosed $18.1M raised across 4 rounds.
- Where is Bizly headquartered?
- Bizly is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.