Async video messaging tool for screen recordings with webcam bubble, sold to Atlassian for $975M after pioneering “video instead of meeting” workflow.
Founding (2016)
Joe Thomas, Vinay Hiremath, Shahed Khan launched November 2016. Thesis: replace synchronous meetings with quick video recordings. “Show, don’t tell.”
The Loom Format
Record screen + webcam bubble (presenter’s face). Instant shareable link. Viewer watches at own pace, 1.5x speed. Comments with timestamps. No scheduling, no Zoom fatigue.
Use Cases That Worked
Product teams:
- Bug reports (show the bug vs describe)
- Feature walkthroughs
- Design critiques
Remote work:
- Async standups (record update vs daily meeting)
- Training videos (onboard new hires)
- Code reviews (explain changes verbally)
Sales/Marketing:
- Product demos
- Customer support (answer via video)
- Proposal walkthroughs
Growth Trajectory
- Free tier: 5 min videos, 25 videos total
- Pro tier: $10/month unlimited
- 2019: 2M users
- 2020: 5M users (pandemic remote work)
- 2021: 14M users
- 2023: 25M+ users
The Atlassian Acquisition (October 2023)
$975M purchase (mostly cash). Integrated into Atlassian ecosystem (Jira, Confluence, Trello). Loom founders stayed on. Massive exit for 7-year-old company.
Competitors
Vidyard, Tella, Vimeo Record, Wistia, ScreenPal (formerly Screencast-O-Matic), Berrycast. Loom dominated via simplicity, free tier, brand recognition.
Cultural Shift
“Send a Loom” entered workplace lexicon like “Send a Slack.” Async-first companies (GitLab, Zapier, Doist) made Looms mandatory for complex topics. Reduced meetings 20-30% for adopters.
Criticisms
- Can’t ask clarifying questions (vs live meeting)
- Longer to consume than reading text
- “Video bloat” - 10 min Loom for 2 min email
- Accessibility issues (auto-captions imperfect)
Related Trends
- #AsyncWork - asynchronous communication
- #RemoteFirst - distributed team workflows
- #MeetingFreeDay - reducing synchronous calls
Sources
- Launch: November 2016
- Atlassian acquisition: October 12, 2023, $975M
- 25M+ users: 2023 (Atlassian announcement)