Indian-origin duo, US co-founder to pocket ₹2500 crore as Atlassian buys Loom
Atlassian Corp. acquires video-messaging startup Loom for $975 million ( ₹8,133 crore), marking its largest deal to date. The acquisition will result in the two Indian-origin founders of Loom, Vinay Hiremath and Shahed Khan, each receiving substantial proceeds of about $300 million ( ₹2,500 crore).
One of the three startup’s co-founders and its Chief Technology Officer, Vinay Hiremath, hails from India, while the other co-founder and President, Shahed Khan, has parents who immigrated from India and Pakistan, reported Economic Times. The third co-founder is United States’ Joe Thomas.
Loom is known for its screen recorder software widely used in workplaces. It enables users to record computer screen videos for sharing with colleagues, making it valuable for tasks like employee onboarding, code reviews, document explanations, and all-hands meetings.
According to Phil Haslett, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at EquityZen, the three founders are expected to earn $300 million, with the total payout for founders and current/former employees reaching $400 million ( ₹3,330 crore).
Atlassian, a company specialising in team collaboration solutions, said that it already serves over 2,60,000 customers in organizing and completing shared work. The addition of Loom is expected to enhance collaboration further, with engineers using visual logs in Jira, leaders utilizing videos for large-scale employee communication, sales teams sending customized video updates to clients, and HR teams welcoming new employees with personalised videos, a statement from the company stated.
For Loom customers, the acquisition will provide access to Atlassian’s platform and product portfolio, enabling the integration of asynchronous video into essential workflows within Jira and Confluence, the statement added.
The acquisition will see Atlassian paying approximately $975 million for Loom, comprising $880 million in cash and the rest in Atlassian equity awards, subject to vesting provisions.