This article explains what Zoom is, including a brief history, and how its main video meeting feature works.

What Is Zoom?

Zoom is an online audio and video conferencing platform used by individuals and companies.

The most common use is one-on-one or company virtual meetings, but you can also use the platform for phone calls, chats, and large-scale presentations.

Zoom’s History Snapshot

Founder Eric Yan, a former Cisco executive, started Zoom in 2011 and launched it in 2013 to rapid success. The platform marked 1 million users by the end of that first year.

A few other noteworthy milestones include:

• 2014: Zoom launched its chat, webinar, and breakout room features.
• 2017: The company had a billion-dollar valuation.
• 2018: The phone app and marketplace launched.
• 2019: It became a publicly-traded company.
• 2020: This year marked a turning point for the company when most of the world turned to Zoom to stay connected during the pandemic.
• 2021: Zoom celebrated 10 years of operation.
• 2023: The company launched Zoom AI companion.

Since its inception, Zoom has become one of the most common video conferencing solutions, outpacing similar solutions like Skype and Google Chat.

What Is a Zoom Meeting?

Though Zoom offers many enterprise-level products and services, including Zoom Rooms (which uses software for dedicated conference rooms), video webinars, and phone systems.

The core product that most people know is Zoom Meetings, which allows web-based audio and video calls between two or more people.

Users can start Zoom meetings (and share the link with anyone) in numerous ways:

• Zoom web app
• Zoom for desktop
• Mobile app

You can also cast a Zoom meeting to your television.

How Zoom Works

Anyone can start using Zoom for free, without a subscription.

If you receive a Zoom meeting invite and don’t have an account, joining the meeting is as simple as following the link—no account creation or sign-in required.

To start your own Zoom Meeting, you’ll need a Zoom account, which you can create for free from the Zoom website.

Zoom offers several Zoom Meeting plans with varying benefits depending on your needs. Here’s an overview:

• Basic: The entry-level free account allows 40-minute meetings with up to 100 participants, and unlimited one-on-one audio-only or video calls. You can record and save meetings, share your screen, and chat too.
• Pro-level tiers: If the Basic features aren’t enough, an upgrade to Zoom Pro, Zoom Business, or Zoom Enterprise could be better. Perks include calls with more than 100 people with a much more generous 24-hour-long cap to meeting lengths. Depending on the selected plan, other features include cloud storage, AI features, and translated captions.