NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Convene, the “workplace-as-a-service” platform that operates a network of on-demand meeting and event venues, announced they have reached an agreement to raise $68M in a Series C funding. The new round brings the company’s total funding to-date to $119.2M.
The Series C funding is led by Convene's existing investors – ArrowMark Partners, Brookfield Property Partners, and Conversion Venture Capital – and includes new investments from prominent investors including The Durst Organization and Elysium Management. Baird served as the exclusive financial advisor to Convene.
Since the company’s Series B round in 2016, Convene has more than doubled their commercial footprint and also celebrated the opening of full-service amenity floors within two of New York City’s iconic office buildings – One World Trade Center and Park Avenue Tower.
The new round of funding will be used to accelerate the development of Convene’s three business lines:
- Convene Retail – The company’s branded network of on-demand meeting, conference, and event venues that serve its enterprise clients. Convene’s network will continue to expand into major cities across the country, and will evolve to also include flexible workspace solutions for companies and enterprise teams between 5 – 75 people.
- Convene Services – The company’s newest offering, Convene Services, partners with landlords to run office buildings more like full-service, “lifestyle” hotels. Amenity-rich floors that provide a premium hospitality experience are being developed within iconic office buildings in 2 new cities, with upcoming plans to also power the headquarters experience for major corporations.
- A mobile-first technology platform – Convene is also developing a proprietary, cloud-based, “smart-building” app for building employees, seamlessly connecting tenants to the building’s infrastructure, on-demand hospitality services, and community programming.
“The way we work has changed forever. The rise of co-working is just the first step in a major industry shift,” said Ryan Simonetti, CEO and Co-Founder of Convene. “The most progressive companies are looking for the next-generation of workplaces – ones that not only provide improved lease flexibility but also seamlessly integrate physical space, hospitality services, and on-demand technology into the overall experience. Landlords that have been disrupted by changing market preferences, initiated by the likes of WeWork, can now partner with Convene to enhance the way that an office building delivers the workday experience for tenants and their most coveted asset – their people.”
Brookfield Property Partners, one of the largest commercial real estate companies with approximately $65 billion in total assets that include 142 premier office properties around the world, is co-leading the Series C funding round for Convene.
“Brookfield's placemaking approach focuses on creating vibrant destinations that help the world's leading companies attract, retain and motivate top talent and maximize productivity," said Ric Clark, Senior Managing Partner and Chairman of Brookfield Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners. "Our ongoing strategic investment in Convene will facilitate the rollout of the company's unique services within our office portfolio, greatly enhancing the flexibility and sense of community we offer to our tenants."
"Real estate is quickly becoming a primary tool used to improve company culture and drive innovation," said Chris Kelly, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer, Convene. "By transforming more Class-A office buildings into hospitality-first, trophy destinations, we're offering our clients and their employees an environment they can truly be excited about going to each day."
For more information on how Convene’s business has evolved, read more on the company blog.
About Convene
Convene (www.convene.com) is the world’s first workplace-as-a-service platform that operates a network of on-demand meeting, event, conference, and workspace venues. The company also partners with the largest commercial landlords to deliver premiere amenities and services for building tenants and their employees. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York City, Convene has been named one of America's 100 Most Promising Companies by Forbes and one of America's fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine. For more information, follow Convene on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
