Arrowhead Innovation Fund announces investment in hybrid event management company Circa

Cassie McClure, 575-312-3242 || March 4, 2021

Arrowhead Innovation Fund, housed at New Mexico State University, has announced an investment into Circa, an event management platform built to help marketing teams succeed in the new world of virtual and hybrid events.

“The event industry is experiencing a rapid metamorphosis. Circa has a solution for enterprise companies with a hybrid in-person and virtual event strategy, whether they’re hosting or sponsoring the events,” Beto Pallares, AIF fund manager, said. “Their management team is experienced and has already raised funds from angels in New Mexico and Silicon Valley. We want to support a business that is already generating revenue and diversifies AIF’s portfolio.”

Circa, formerly branded as EventGeek, a Y Combinator-backed startup, pivoted during the COVID-19 changes and integrated virtual events into its in-person event management system. While it used similar technology, 80 percent of the platform was redone to offer more flexibility and capture different audiences.

“Companies are starting to think beyond 2020. If they’re going to get back to in-person events that have the competitive advantage of in-person sales and partnership meeting, but also capture the cost efficiencies and exponential reach from virtual events, the answer is hybrid,” said Alex Patriquin, founder and CEO of Circa.

Since March 2020, Circa has helped enterprise marketing teams transition from 40,000 in-person events to events held virtually and a hybrid of in-person and virtual.

Circa’s cloud-based solution helps enterprises with dozens to thousands of events reset their strategy with event templates and data-driven insights, powered by integrations with Zoom, GoTo, Webex, On24, and leading videoconference, marketing, and CRM solutions. Circa customers include world-class enterprises such as Salesforce, Okta, Honda, Farmers Insurance and Elsevier.

AIF has commitments for a total investment of $800,000 from New Mexico’s Catalyst Fund, a $20 million “fund of funds” to support New Mexico companies, and $500,000 from the NMSU Foundation, as well as a $300,000 grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Innovation Strategies program and other private investors.

AIF stands at $2 million in commitments and is looking for companies with entrepreneurs fully committed to growing and scaling their company and who are seeking between $25,000 and $200,000 in investment toward their total seed round fundraising target.

For more information about AIF, visit www.aifvc.com, or contact Carlos Murguia at carlos@aifvc.com or 575-405-1042. For more information about Circa, visit http://circa.co/.