Atlassian bets $1.5 billion on the future of hybrid work with Loom acquisition

Australian workflow management giant Atlassian has acquired US video messaging platform Loom for $1.5 billion, reaffirming its faith in asynchronous meetings and remote work options.

Loom, founded in 2016, is a platform allowing workers to replace traditional meetings with video messages attached to text presentations and slideshows.

Like other tech firms promising remote work solutions, Loom experienced rapid uptake through the COVID-19 pandemic, as worldwide public health restrictions forced more teams to work remotely.

It now counts around 25 million users, who record and share 7 million video messages per month.

Atlassian says the acquisition will integrate Loom into its existing product lines, including Jira, Confluence, and Trello, allowing teams using those platforms to more easily share information and insights.

Loom will also remain a standalone product for use by teams outside the existing Atlassian ecosystem.

The acquisition will be comprised of approximately $1.39 billion in cash, with the remainder in Atlassian equity awards.

The deal is subject to final regulatory approval.

Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar said they have used Loom since its earliest days, and view the platform as a natural fit for its remote working tech empire.

“There are over 1 billion knowledge workers looking for better ways to plan, track and execute work each day,” the pair said in a statement.

“The rise of distributed work has meant a greater reliance on tools to help teams work asynchronously, across different geographies and timezones.”

“As Atlassian consolidates Loom into its platform, engineers will soon be able to visually log issues in Jira, leaders will use videos to connect with employees at scale, sales teams will send tailored video updates to clients, and HR teams will onboard new employees with personalised welcome videos,” the pair added.

Joe Thomas, Loom co-founder, said the parties were uniquely aligned.

“Loom’s vision is to empower everyone at work to communicate more effectively wherever they are, and by joining Atlassian, we can accelerate their mission to unleash the potential of every team,” he said.

Vinay Hiremath, Loom co-founder and CTO, pointed to the acquisition as an opportunity for massive user growth.

“We have been building a relationship with Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar for many years,” he said.

“Atlassian has been a true believer in Loom since our early days, and myself and Joe think this acquisition marks the beginning of a critical breakout growth chapter for Loom.”

For Atlassian, the deal effectively serves as a $1.5 billion commitment to the future of remote work, a philosophy the company says is integral to its own financial success.

The deal comes as other WFH market darlings readjust to the maturing hybrid work environment.

Video meeting platform Zoom — not to be confused with Loom — has seen its revenue growth slow considerably since COVID-19 lockdowns first forced teams to go remote, although recent revenue growth and news of artificial intelligence add-ons have buoyed investor confidence.

Slack, the workplace instant messaging platform now owned by Salesforce, has recently announced ‘Slack GPT’ AI functions of its own and has premiered a facelift shifting the traditional messaging system into a social media-like feed.