Video chat app Zoom Communications is investing $100 million to fund startup software companies that builds apps using its technology, the company made the announcements on Monday.
The video conferencing company has become a household name during the pandemic as businesses and schools shifted to its platform, along with rival platforms such as Microsoft Corp’s Teams and Cisco Systems Inc’s Webex.
Zoom Chief Financial Officer Kelly Steckelberg told Reuters that the fund will make investments of between $250,000 and $2.5 million into companies building “Zoom Apps” that plug into the company’s video conferencing software to add new features to it.
Steckelberg said the fund will be run from Zoom’s balance sheet, rather than as a standalone venture capital entity, and will not seek to take board seats in the companies it invests in.
“This will really help invest in developers at early stages and get early market traction,” she told Reuters in an interview. “It’s definitely on the lines of being a strategic investor.”
The investment is part of the company changing its gears to be a dominant player in the tech space.
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