VinaCapital Ventures invests $1.5mln in local conferencing communications provider

VinaCapital Ventures, the technology investment vehicle of the VinaCapital Group, announced on March 6 that it has led a $1.5 million investment in Quickom, a Vietnam-based video conferencing communications provider with proprietary and US-patented technology.

The global video communications market is witnessing rapid growth, fueled by the increased adoption of virtual workplaces and workforces. Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, nine out of ten organizations have adopted a hybrid model combining remote and on-site working, according to McKinsey research. To facilitate this surging demand, most video conferencing providers rely heavily on centralized data centers, which presents significant challenges, including inefficient resource utilization and costly scale-up. These centers also require substantial reserves of uplink and downlink bandwidth as they serve as singular access points, making them prone to congestion during periods of heavy traffic.

Quickom’s solution differs from that of other conferencing providers by utilizing a decentralized peer-hosted network architecture that enables data transmission directly between users or nodes, bypassing the need for a centralized data center. The decentralized network employs an algorithm that extracts unused bandwidth and processing power to process and route video, audio, and other data, significantly bringing down the overall costs associated with hosting virtual calls. Its solution also reduces network congestion, resulting in stable and high-quality calls as well as lower operating expenses, maintenance costs, and energy waste.

With the new capital, Dr. William H. Nguyen, CEO and Founder of Quickom, said it is delighted to welcome VinaCapital Ventures as one of its investors. “Their investment will play a pivotal role in driving Quickom’s global expansion in the conference business, while simultaneously enabling our decentralized technology to empower billions of underserved individuals worldwide in sectors such as education, business, entertainment, and healthcare, for fostering free knowledge exchange on a global scale,” he said.

Amid growing concerns about online privacy in video conferencing and strict government regulations, Quickom is gaining traction as a private and secure-first enterprise-grade video communications provider with technical capabilities and a strong commitment to security and privacy. It has successfully deployed its solutions with prominent domestic and international enterprises as well as multiple Vietnamese Government agencies. It also offers video conferencing as a subscription service.

Mr. Hoang Duc Trung, Partner at VinaCapital Ventures, said Vietnam is quickly closing the gap in terms of technological advancement and the digital transformation of its economy is well underway. Quickom is a perfect example of a startup leading the way forward. Its solutions are innovative and advanced, addressing important current issues such as cyber security and data privacy as well as future cyberspace threats. “We are thrilled to be one of Quickom’s early investors and are excited to see where they take the business,” he added.

Quickom hosted 500+ livestreaming events on its platform during 2023. The company has cooperated with a range of major organizers, including the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC), Techfest Vietnam, HOZO, and ETH Vietnam. With these and other top-tier clients, it expects its top-line revenue will more than double year-on-year over the next three years.

It is now leveraging and innovating its current technology for the Web3 segment, which will serve as a transformation growth driver into the next generation of the internet. It has taken a first step in this initiative with Chat3, a new platform redefining SocialFi, which combines social media with decentralized finance to allow users to monetize their online presence and interactions through blockchain technology. Since its launch four months ago, Chat3 has gained popularity with the global Web3 community and was recently funded by Arche Fund, a prominent Web3 venture capital fund in Southeast Asia, and Mantle, a blockchain backed by Mirana Ventures and Bybit Exchange.

Quickom was founded in 2021 by Dr. William H. Nguyen, a highly-regarded Vietnamese technology pioneer and serial entrepreneur with a history of successful ventures in communications technology, education, computer networks, and data security, serving tens of millions of users worldwide. He currently holds three US patents in the field of communications technology.