Joint Venture Capital Transaction for the Italo-american start-up

PRESS RELEASE

 

ATLANTE VENTURES, NEW ENTERPRISES ASSOCIATES AND COMO VENTURE INVEST $1.2 MILLION IN HYPERFAIR

·         Hyperfair, based in San Francisco and with a R&D centre in Lecco, has reinvented the way in which virtual trade fairs and expos are held on the web, with a 3D online platform

·         A first investment round has been subscribed in the form of a convertible loan

·         The first ever collaboration between Italian and US Venture Capital funds

 

 

Milan, 21 February 2014 – Atlante Ventures, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group found managed by IMI Fondi Chiusi SGR, New Enterprises Associates (N.E.A.) – one of the world's largest and most active Venture Capital entities – and Como Venture are placing a bet on the future of Hyperfair with a $1.2 million investment.

The joint investment in Hyperfair, led by N.E.A:, was completed in the form of a convertible loan.

Thanks to the presence of a fund such as N.E.A., the transaction becomes highly significant within the framework of Italian start-ups and represents an important example of collaboration between Italian and US Venture Capital funds.

 

Hyperfair , based in San Francisco (USA), was established in Lecco in 2009 by Marco Campanari and Massimiliano Bonfanti. The start-up has reinvented the way in which virtual trade fairs are held on the web with an online platform where people, with their own avatars, can visit exhibition booths and stands, meet and interact with one another for business matching purposes, in a simple and interactive manner.

Hyperfair's platform is becoming increasingly popular among organisers of trade fair events thanks to the option it provides to create virtual events with an engaging and immersive 3D web experience with browser-based navigation. It is ideal to make companies more international and it meets the requirements of both exhibitors, who are able to drastically cut down on costs and do business with buyers from all over the world, and of event organisers, who are thus able to offer a wider range of value-added services by complementing traditional events or holding virtual only or even hybrid events.

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"The historic cycles of tremendous hype followed by equal amounts of disappointment relegated virtual worlds to a flying cars view of the future. Now however, it really seems that Hyperfair has cracked the code and is receiving terrific traction by making the experience super easy and focusing on meeting a real business need around cost-effective and cross-border business presence. Hyperfair’s 3D world is doing for trade shows what 2D video conferencing has done for meetings”, declares Greg Papadopoulos, Venture Partner of New Enterprises Associates.

"Hyperfair is radically revolutionising the way of doing business matching, thereby enabling anyone to exhibit, attend and organise an event from anywhere in the world", remarks Marco Campanari, CEO of Hyperfair. “With this round, and especially with the injection of such prestigious funds, we can continue to improve Hyperfair by expanding internationally, while at the same time providing our users with a great social business experience”.

“We are extremely pleased to have taken part in this transaction, which represents an important step for the Italian Venture Capital market. It is one of the few examples where two Italian funds and one of the leading global funds have made a joint investment, by relying on the technology innovation skills of a brilliant Italian entity. We hope that, thanks to the growth process that we have launched, Hyperfair will soon manage to achieve an international dimension”, stated Davide Turco, Venture Capital manager of IMI Fondi Chiusi SGR.

“Participation in the Hyperfair investment is in line with the overall strategy of the «Sistema Como» project, promoted by the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Como, Paolo De Santis”, states Maurizio Traglio, President of Como Venture. “The Hyperfair investment, which has its main product development centre in Lecco, represents the sixth transaction for Como Venture three years on from the start-up of the business, after Bionsil srl, A.I.M. Srl, Pilegrowth srl, Microenergy srl and Directa Plus spa, the latter with head office and place of business at the Scientific and Technology Park of ComoNext in Lomazzo”.

 

 

Hyperfair

Hyperfair, Inc. has reinvented the way of doing virtual trade fairs online.

It organises web events held in 3D environments with browser-based navigation, where exhibitors and visitors -through their avatars- engage in networking activities, meet and interact with one another for a real social business experience which enables anyone to attend, exhibit or organise a virtual expo anywhere in the world. Hyperfair has its headquarters in the Silicon Valley and a European branch in Italy.

Atlante Ventures

Atlante Ventures, a Fund of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group dedicated to the Venture Capital, invests in the venture capital of innovative companies that are still relatively small in size but have a high growth potential, with special emphasis on entities operating in the advanced technology sector.

Como Venture Srl

It is an investment company whose shareholders are Sviluppo Como spa and 27 entrepreneurs from Como and its corporate objective is the development of the business community in the territory of Como and surrounding areas. Como Venture participates in and promotes business initiatives with highly innovative and technological content, including in collaboration with Universities and in synergy with research centres, business groups and specialised structures.