NEW DELHI:  Not willing to give up an over-billion strong consumer market to Mukesh Ambani’s just-launched JioMeet video conferencing platform, US-based rival Zoom is setting up strategies to take on home-grown conglomerate. Among the key channels through which it seeks to do it is by ramping up in investment and increasing local hiring.  

In a blogpost on Thursday, Zoom sought to dispel misconceptions that the app has links with China. “India is and will continue to be an important market for Zoom,” said Velchamy Sankarlingam, who joined as President of Engineering and Products at Zoom in May.

“From large multinational brands with Indian operations and subsidiaries, to MSME enterprises looking to expand, as well as home-grown start-ups, India is a key market for Zoom,” he said, “We have plans for significant investment in the country over the next five years and beyond, including expanding our footprint and hiring more top talent in the region.” Zoom, he stressed, was a US company that was publicly traded on the NASDAQ.

“We do recognize that as we continue to introduce ourselves to the Indian market, there has been some confusion about the facts as it relates to Zoom. Some of the misconceptions are disheartening, especially those about Zoom and China. We want to work through these,” he said. 

The video meet platform also plans to engage with more stakeholders in India over the coming months to support key priorities such as Digital India, StartUp India and Skills India, as well as introduce them to Zoom, he added.

With tensions between India and China at a boil, the local traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents some seven crore traders from across the country, has called for a boycott of Zoom. It also said it has instead started using JioMeet, an Indian alternative. 

Meanwhile, Sankarlingam also stressed that Zoom understands its obligation to its users and takes security and privacy “incredibly seriously”. The company had earlier announced a 90-day plan during the course of which Zoom released over 100 new features focused on privacy, safety and security.