Loom: From Bootstrapped Beginnings to a Billion-Dollar Acquisition

Loom, the video messaging tool that transformed workplace communication, was founded by Joe Thomas, Vinay Hiremath, and Shahed Khan in 2016. What started as a small experiment to make workplace communication more personal and efficient grew into a unicorn startup, now used by millions. In 2023, Loom’s success culminated in its acquisition by Atlassian, a major player in the software development and team collaboration space, for $975 million.

The Founding Story

In 2016, Joe Thomas and his co-founders saw a fundamental problem in how teams communicated. The workplace was filled with long email threads and meetings that ate up valuable time, while remote work created a need for more effective communication across different time zones.

The solution? A tool that combined the simplicity of sending a quick message with the impact of face-to-face communication—an asynchronous video messaging platform. Users could record short videos explaining ideas, providing feedback, or delivering updates and send them instantly. This allowed recipients to watch and respond when convenient, cutting down on unnecessary meetings and email exchanges.

Loom launched in 2016, and its intuitive design quickly gained traction. Teams in marketing, product development, sales, and customer service loved how it allowed them to share messages that felt more personal and human than text. Loom's early growth was largely fueled by word of mouth, and by the end of 2017, it had raised its first round of venture capital.

Bootstrapped Growth and the Rise of Remote Work

Unlike many startups that scale through aggressive marketing, Loom grew organically. Joe and his co-founders focused on listening to users and iterating the product based on feedback. The tool became especially popular among remote and distributed teams, as it solved a major pain point: the need for effective, asynchronous communication.

Loom became essential during the rise of remote work, particularly in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of workers to shift to home offices. The tool’s user base surged, growing to more than 10 million users by the end of that year. As companies moved to hybrid work models, Loom was increasingly seen as a must-have tool for distributed teams. In the same year, Loom raised $130 million in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, which valued the company at $1.5 billion, cementing its unicorn status.

Acquisition by Atlassian

Loom’s innovative approach to communication caught the attention of Atlassian, a software giant known for tools like Jira, Confluence, and Trello. In October 2023, Atlassian announced it would acquire Loom for $975 million, marking a major milestone in Loom’s journey.

The acquisition was a strategic move for Atlassian, which sought to integrate Loom’s video messaging capabilities into its suite of team collaboration tools. By acquiring Loom, Atlassian could offer a more seamless experience for its users, enabling teams to not only track work and collaborate in real-time but also communicate more effectively through video.

For Joe Thomas and his team, the acquisition represented both validation and an exciting new chapter for Loom. The company’s mission to streamline communication and improve productivity would now reach an even broader audience through Atlassian’s global platform.

Beyond Video Messaging

Though Loom started as a simple video messaging tool, it has evolved significantly over time. The platform now offers features like video transcription, viewer insights, and team libraries, which allow teams to easily organize and share videos across their organizations. Loom also integrated with popular collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, and Notion, further embedding itself into daily workflows.

With its acquisition by Atlassian, Loom’s capabilities will likely expand even further, particularly as it becomes part of Atlassian’s ecosystem of collaboration software.

The Future of Work with Loom and Atlassian

As remote and hybrid work continue to redefine the workplace, Loom is poised to play an even more significant role in how teams communicate. Under Atlassian’s leadership, Loom will likely see new features, deeper integrations, and even greater adoption. With asynchronous communication tools like Loom, the future of work is becoming more flexible, efficient, and personal—allowing teams to collaborate across time zones without sacrificing the human element.

Overview in Numbers:

• Founded: 2015

• Founders: Joe Thomas, Vinay Hiremath, Shahed Khan

• Employees: 200+ as of 2021

• Company Status: Acquired by Atlassian in October 2023 for $975 million

• Funding: Raised $130 million in 2020, led by Andreessen Horowitz

• Users: Over 20 million (as of 2023)

• Key Integrations: Slack, Notion, Trello

• Pandemic Growth: Massive surge in adoption during 2020 due to remote work