OnePlan has raised $3.8 million in Series A funding at a $15 million valuation as the event planning software company looks to grow its platform across the sports world.
As venues reopen with varied (and changing) COVID-19 protocols, OnePlan’s online collaborative mapping and diagramming tool helps organizers layout and manage crowdflow infrastructure. The company also offers a more advanced 3D visualization feature, VenueTwin, for larger projects. With it, organizations are better able to remotely sell tickets and sponsorships, as well as pitch their venues to traveling events.
OnePlan recently signed a deal with World Triathlon to help the organization design races and make it easier for potential host cities to share their visions for competitions. OnePlan’s other clients include the Brooklyn Nets and Chelsea FC—and the tech was even used to plan a COVID-19 vaccine distribution site in San Diego.
OnePlan founder Paul Foster said any large gathering places, like airports and malls, could use the tools to manage logistics, though his focus is on the sports world. OnePlan has now been used for more than 2,000 events across 50 countries.
Foster, who started the company in 2019, has worked on people-movement problems for groups ranging from the Olympics to the FBI. He said the new funding would help grow the startup’s marketing and sales efforts, as OnePlan looks to grow from 22 employees to 40.
VenueTwin uses Epic’s Unreal Engine to recreate stadiums in a lightweight streaming client, allowing hospitality and sponsorship teams to show off not-yet-built seats and signage to potential clients. The visualizations can also contribute to design decisions, or help venues bidding for events show how they could evolve to fit new needs.
“There’s more to come,” Foster said. “There’s the potential of people at home getting to hear what it sounds like from their seat, as well as viewing a stadium from their seat, a whole consumer-facing element.” A theoretical fan could test out the walk from the nearby shuttle stop all the way to their seat. “Anything you can do in a physical venue, you’re able to do in the digital realm,” Foster said.
