Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF, FRA:1SS) CEO Evan Gappelberg talked with Proactive about the company’s strong start to 2026, highlighting accelerating enterprise adoption of its AI-powered event technology platform and growing demand for AI-driven event infrastructure.
Gappelberg explained that the company has already signed dozens of new customer contracts early in the year, reflecting strong momentum in the market.
Importantly, these agreements represent new customers, while Nextech3D.ai continues to generate additional revenue from renewals and expansions within its existing client base.
The CEO also highlighted that the company’s average deal size increased significantly year over year, suggesting customers are committing to larger deployments. He noted that the company believes there is still significant room for expansion as it rolls out additional enterprise-focused products.
Gappelberg discussed the broader opportunity in the global events industry, which he described as a $1.5 trillion market where much of the technology currently used by event organizers remains outdated.
Nextech3D.ai’s platform aims to address this by using artificial intelligence to automate event planning, improve attendee matchmaking, enhance exhibitor return on investment and deliver deeper analytics.
Looking ahead, the company plans to focus on continued enterprise customer growth, increasing deal sizes and expanding product offerings including blockchain-based ticketing solutions designed to strengthen its platform ecosystem.
Proactive: Hello, you're watching Proactive. I'm joined by Nextech3D.ai CEO Evan Gappelberg. Evan, very good to speak with you. So 2026 is off to a very strong start for the company. You’ve signed numerous new customer contracts and revenue per customer is also up. What's driving this surge of demand for your AI-powered event platform?
Evan Gappelberg: Great to be back. We announced a very strong start to 2026. Signing dozens of contracts in basically two months with new customers is no small feat. Importantly, these numbers only reflect new customers, meaning we also have our existing business with renewals and expansion revenue continuing to grow.
What we’re seeing is accelerating enterprise adoption of our AI-powered event tech platform. The big takeaway is that demand for AI-powered event infrastructure is growing rapidly. We're seeing that translate not only into new enterprise customers but also into larger deal sizes.
That’s also encouraging customers to spend more. How much more room is there to grow those contracts further?
There's a large amount of room for growth. Even though our average deal size went up 73% year over year, which tells us customers aren't just testing the platform anymore—they’re adopting it. But we're still in the early days.
I could see another 100% or even 200% increase in deal size over time as we roll out more product offerings geared toward enterprise customers. As deal size increases, it significantly impacts the bottom line because we operate with a 95% gross profit margin.
Why is AI in the event industry so important?
AI is important in every industry and even in our daily lives. The event industry itself is massive—a $1.5 trillion global marketplace—but much of the technology currently used to run events is outdated.
AI allows us to create a platform that helps organizers automate event planning, improve attendee matchmaking, optimize exhibitor ROI and use analytics to measure event performance. It's transforming how events are run from planning to engagement to analytics, and Nextech3D.ai is at the forefront of that.
What should investors be watching for next?
The key things are continued enterprise customer growth, more deals currently under negotiation and further increases in average deal size. We’re also expanding our platform across multiple products.
We’ve previously announced blockchain ticketing, which we believe will play a major role in accelerating the business. Our goal is to keep converting our growing pipeline into larger enterprise deals. The bottom line is that we’re seeing strong early momentum in 2026, and we believe it’s just the beginning of a much larger opportunity in AI-powered event technology.
Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity