Zoom Focuses on AI to Drive Growth. Will It Work?

Back when we focused more on the tech startup scene, there was a time when it seemed like every other article was about artificial intelligence and machine learning. We eagerly mined the annual CB Insights reports on the top AI companies and produced countless listicles about everything from AI healthcare startups to AI startups in Hungary. One of those articles was about natural language processing companies using a large language model called GPT-3 for things like writing Tinder bios. 

This was back in March 2021, well before OpenAI’s big breakout with ChatGPT at the end of 2022. However, the company was already valued at between $14 billion and $20 billion by then after attracting some big venture capital bucks, as well as the attention of a little software company called Microsoft. After recently raising $6.6 billion, the Sam Altman-led, soon-to-be-for-profit company now sports a valuation of $157 billion.

Zoom Stock Headed the Wrong Way

Meanwhile, an AI-adjacent company like Zoom (ZM) has been doing a financial Benjamin Button impersonation. After hitting a market cap of $139 billion at the height of pandemic hype, Zoom now sports a valuation of about $22 billion,