- While major corporations and small businesses are suffering from economic setbacks caused by the coronavirus, a roster of startups are capitalizing on the increased remote workforce demand.
- Virtual collaboration startups — including Zoom and Slack — specialize in making remote meetings, conference calls, and digital communication run smoothly.
- Business Insider compiled a list of startups that have experienced product booms since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and how they can help make your remote team more productive.
- Click here for more BI Prime stories.
More people around the world are working remotely — and the need for virtual conferencing platforms is at an all-time high.
In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, remote work has become the new normal. Wall Street analysts at Bernstein Research said there has been an increase in demand for virtual conferencing companies. The cloud-based conferencing market will likely exceed its market valuation of $3 billion as platforms like Zoom and Slack report rapid increases of usage in a mere few weeks, according to data from global research advisory firm Gartner, reported by CIO Dive.
Employers are now dependent on conferencing tech not only because it helps them communicate with coworkers, but it also allows them to interact face-to-face.
Business Insider compiled a list of startups that have experienced product booms since the coronavirus outbreak.
Here are seven companies that are the changing face of remote work.
Online events platform Hopin came out of stealth mode three weeks ago and raised $6.5 million in funding.
Hopin, a London-based startup, is an online event platform that's capable of hosting company gatherings and global conferences as big as the Mobile World Congress, the company previously told Business Insider.
Founded in 2019, the virtual venue came out of stealth mode in February, after securing $6.5 million of funding from Accel, Northzone, Seedcamp, and a number of angel investors. Moreover, the startup reported a spike from 10,000 wait-listers to 18,000 in three weeks as more workers go remote.
"Hopin is the only platform that can truly replicate an offline event online, no matter the size," said Luciana Lixandru, partner at investing company Accel, previously told Business Insider.
Around raised $5.2 million in seed funding and just came out of stealth mode on March 18.
This week, video-conferencing platform Around came out of stealth mode after securing $5.2 million in seed funding. The company shared that it's expecting up to 10,000 sign-ups by March 20, three days after launch, as the coronavirus pandemic is increasing the demand for conferencing tools.
Instead of taking over the screen like a traditional video call, Around's floating video layer makes room for computer apps. Users appear in circular icons that crop out background clutter, while Around's video-processing AI keeps the camera focused on the callers' faces, even as they move around, the company said.
Zoom has already brought in more users in three months than last year combined, according to Wall Street researchers.
Zoom is one of the most popular video-conferencing platforms, according to Owl Labs Research. In fact, company has added an estimated 2.22 million monthly active users so far in 2020 due to the coronavirus, while in all of 2019 it added 1.99 million users, the research firm noted.
Wall Street firm Bernstein Research estimates that the company has already brought in more new active users this year than last year due to coronavirus, CNBC reported.
Eric Yuan, CEO and Zoom, announced that the company lifted its 40-minute limit for callers using the free version of the software in China, as he wanted to help those impacted by the pandemic, Business Insider previously reported.
Online events platform Run the World raised $4.3 million in seed funding in less than a year and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz.
Run the World, a startup founded by two former Facebook employees, allows users to run online lectures, conferences, and festivals. Though it's only a couple of months old, the company already raised $4.3 million seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz last year, Business Insider previously reported.
Moreover, Run the World came out of stealth mode last week and announced that it would waive set-up fees for companies impacted by the spread of coronavirus.
FreeConferenceCall saw a 3442% increase in account creations in Italy.
FreeConferenceCall is really as on the nose as it sounds. Founded in 2001, the company is one of the largest providers for online calls. As of March 12, the platform saw a surge in global usage — account sign-ups increased 42% in the UK, 3442% in Italy, 68% France, 83% in South Korea, 121% in Spain, 94% in Germany, and 393% in Japan since January 2020, according to Markets Insider.
In response to this, the company launched the Stay Connected campaign that allows US users to access secure group chats with their numbers, Markets Insider reported. That way, you can have up to 1,000 people on the line.
Slack added 7,000 new paid customers since the beginning of February and rolled out new features to support remote teams.
Slack added 7,000 new paid customers since the beginning of February, saw a 19% stock increase, and rolled out major updates in nearly two months time, Business Insider previously reported. The company further reported skyrocketing earnings and a spike in new users due to the coronavirus. Nevertheless, it's too soon to tell whether the usage will increase revenue, the company shared in its reported quarterly earnings last week.
Known as one of the most prominent workplace collaboration platforms, Slack introduced a web and desktop redesign — you can now have navigation bars, customizable tabs, and draft options. The company also gave free upgrades to teams that are helping solve the pandemic.
Office decorating startup GroWrk has seen a surge in customers.
GroWrk is a subscription service that customizes home workspaces. It offers "remote assessments" and sends remote work essentials for your new home office. You can either rent out a home desk or a chair for a certain amount of time, or you can subscribe for supplies in bulk. A remote office set can range from $26 to $79.
Though it launched only six months ago, the startup saw a 10 times surge in customers, as more employees are being asked to work from home.
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