Zoom Video Communications has announced a new $100 million Zoom Apps Fund, a venture fund created to stimulate growth of Zoom’s ecosystem of Zoom Apps, integrations, developer platform and hardware, according to a statement from the company.
Portfolio companies will receive initial investments between $250,000 and $2.5 million to build solutions on top of Zoom’s core platform. Zoom Apps, or 'Zapps,' are additional applications for productivity and collaboration that drive better customer experiences on the Zoom platform, the company said.
Zoom Launches $100M Apps Venture Fund for 'Zapps'
Zoom announced Zoom Apps at its Zoomtopia conference in October 2020. Zoom partners Docket, Mural and Neat teamed up with Zoom at the user conference to demonstrate some of the new solutions, including:
- Docket’s online collaboration platform delivered one of the first Zapps as part of a new integration offering;
- Mural showed how its integration will allow for visual collaboration in Zoom sessions; and
- Neat debuted key products, including Neat Bar Pro, that provide larger screens and advanced microphone arrays to improve the in-room meeting experience.
Zoom Master Agent, Certified Integrator Programs
In March 2021, Zoom Video Communications expanding its Master Agent Referral Partner Program with new commission and revenue structures to help partners grow their Zoom business, according to a statement from the company. New enhancements for Master Agents included increased partner revenue on qualifying deals with Zoom Phone and Zoom United, the company’s unified meetings, phone and chat offering, and a simplified commission structure, according to the statement.
In December 2020, Zoom announced at its Zoom Partner Connect conference that it extended the Zoom Certified Integrator Program to include Zoom Phone, enabling more voice professionals to become certified in delivering Zoom Phone and accelerate adoption and deployment, ChannelE2E reported.
Zoom’s Phone Certified Integrator program allows integrators and partners to build value-added services to customers such as design, deployment and management of Zoom’s video-first unified communications platform, according to Zoom. The program also offers engagement with the Zoom PSO team, collaboration with the Zoom Phone design team and branding opportunities including a Zoom Phone Certified Integrator logo, as well as a listing on the Zoom Partner Locator, according to the company.
Zoom Partner Program Growth
In August 2020, Zoom said it grew channel sales teams, programs, operations, marketing and partner success teams by 10x, and partner deal registrations showed 200 percent growth in 2020. Thus far in 2021, Zoom says partner bookings have increased by 7x year-over-year.
“I founded Zoom in 2011, nearly ten years ago. Without the support of early investors, Zoom would not be what it is today,” said Eric S. Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom, in the statement announcing the venture fund. “What I’ve learned over the past year is that we need to keep meetings productive and fun. My hope is that the Zoom Apps Fund will help our customers meet happier and collaborate even more seamlessly, and at the same time help entrepreneurs build new businesses as our platform evolves.”
