What happened: Zoom, the startup offering an affordable, easy to use video conferencing service, filed for IPO on Friday. Founded in 2011 by former WebEx engineer Eric Yuan, Zoom posted a net positive income in the fiscal year ending on Jan. 31 following a $1 billion valuation in 2017. It will look to raise $100 million upon listing on the NASDAQ under the ZM symbol, and joins a host of other tech startups such as Lyft, Pinterest and Airbnb also making preparations to go public.
Why it’s important: Despite its relative youth, Zoom has held up against larger competitors like Microsoft, Google and even Cisco, which purchased WebEx for $3.2 billion in 2007. And while its current conferencing service is oriented toward the enterprise and education sectors, founder and CEO Eric Yuan mentioned in a recent conversation with GGV Capital that the company is looking into creating a consumer-focused version of its product, which could compete more squarely with the likes of Skype and Google Hangouts. With a most recent net income of $7.6 million, Zoom is poised to buck the trend of startups filing for IPO before reaching profitability.