$2.1 billion live events startup Hopin makes its second acquisition in a month with $250 million deal for live streaming platform StreamYard

<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5ff6ead66d61c10019cce16f-2400/Johnny Boufarhat.jpg" alt="Johnny Boufarhat" data-mce-source="Hopin" data-mce-caption="Johnny Boufarhat Hopin founder and CEO" border="0"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Fast-growing events startup Hopin has struck its second acquisition deal in a month with a $250 million deal to buy live streaming service StreamYard.&nbsp;</p><p>Hopin, founded at the end of 2019, has already achieved a valuation of $2.1 billion and has been a winner of the pandemic as events organizers scrambled to move events online. The company provides software to bring conferences and live events online and says it is bringing thousands of new organizations in each day.</p><p>The deal follows a move announced less than a month ago for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hopin-live-events-acquires-topi-further-ma-2020-12">New York-based networking app, Topi</a>, which Hopin CEO Johnny Boufarhat indicated would be part of a more aggressive M&amp;A strategy. Hopin already worked with StreamYard, a startup that allows content creators to produce and share high-quality video streaming, for months prior to the acquisition.&nbsp;</p><p>"For events to succeed you need high-quality production and a lot of our customersaround 70%were already using StreamYard on Hopin," Boufarhat told Insider. "StreamYard is one of the largest video streaming platforms globally and their mission is the same as ours as a business in terms of focus on the customer."</p><p>StreamYard, based in Tualatin, Oregon, was founded in 2018 by Geige Vandentop and Dan Briggs. The company has been bootstrapped to date and grew revenues to nearly $10 million in early 2020. The startup was boosted by the coronavirus pandemic and hired a team of 19 to reach over $30 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by year-end. StreamYard serves over 100,000 paying customers, adding 10,000 paying customers per month, Vandentop told Business Insider.&nbsp;</p><p>The $250 million deal to buy StreamYard is comprised of cash and stock. "All of this deal came off the balance sheet," Boufarhat added. "Some people might think our growth has been a bit cowboy, but we are profitable and focused on our mission."</p><p>Hopin was incorporated in the UK in June 2019. It raised <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hopin-buzzy-tech-startup-raises-65-million-from-accel-and-northzone-2020" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="80" data-uri="9c24dcc11aa359450bc03a93c7da948f">a $6.5 million seed round in February 2020</a> having barely launched its product. Its valuation went up to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virtual-events-startup-hopin-raises-40-million-as-demand-explodes-2020-6" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="80" data-uri="ece98f1a15f7e5d3dd25b3a2255f739f">$350 million just four months later</a>&nbsp;when Silicon Valley growth fund IVP led a $40 million Series A into the business. Now it's a $2.1 billion valued unicorn.</p><p>The London-based startup now has more than 300 staff and five million users. According to Bourfarhat, the startup has increased its ARR to $25 million. ARR is a metric that software startups use to indicate the yearly value of its contracts.</p><p>"Hopin is one of our most astounding growth stories; the team's Series B in November was a momentous milestone in every respect, including for the fast-changing virtual events industry," said Sonali De Rycker, partner at Accel. "And they've now acquired two companiesfirst Topi, and now StreamYard. To pull this off in the first year of operation is unprecedented. The combination with StreamYard is incredibly powerful and will further fuel Hopin's trajectory as it charts the future of online experiences."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hopin-live-events-acquires-topi-further-ma-2020-12" >$2.1 billion live events startup Hopin made its first acquisition with networking app Topi and is planning 'aggressive' future M&A</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hopin-acquires-streamyard-250-million-deal-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-planes-future-of-aviation-problems-regulations-2020-3">Why electric planes haven't taken off yet</a></p>
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