"Zoom's mission is to deliver an Al-first work platform."

Sameer Raje, General Manager and Head of India & SAARC at Zoom Video Communications brings over two decades of experience in technology and collaboration solutions. Before joining Zoom in April 2019 to expand its presence in the region, Raje held senior leadership roles at Cisco WebEx, IBM, and Microsoft, where he built and led high-performing teams across pre-sales, sales, and support. His tenure at West Unified Communications saw him increase market share across APAC countries, further cementing his expertise in driving growth in the digital communication space.In this interview with Pratima Harigunani, he discusses Zoom's vision for the future of workspaces, focusing on how Al, cloud telephony, holograms, and avatars can reshape collaboration. He sheds light on how Zoom is leveraging cutting-edge technologies to create seamless and immersive workplace experiences while positioning itself as a leader in a rapidly evolving industry. Excerpts:

- Pratima Harigunani

How much, and how soon, can Al's role change the space of collaboration tools?

Al is driving a monumental shift in how we work by improving productivity, simplifying tasks, and fostering engagement. It is reshaping teamwork and ushering in a new era of collaboration. However, a significant portion of collaboration involves time-consuming activities like sending meeting summaries, organising updates, or managing information, which can inadvertently impact productivity. Zoom's mission is to deliver an Al-first work platform that enables limitless human connection. Through Zoom Workplace and Zoom Business Services, we aim to help individuals and teams focus on meaningful work, freeing time for creativity and collaboration.

What have been the lessons while shaping up Al Companion 2.0?

We announced Al Companion 2.0, which brings a “single brain” working across Zoom and connected third-party data sources, offering expanded context and advanced synthesis capabilities. With this, users can receive intelligent suggestions based on their current work and past interactions, and it can pull information from emails and calendars to help users get up to speed quickly. Additionally, AI Companion now offers real-time web access, allowing users to find the information they need without leaving the platform. This evolution of AI-driven collaboration tools is transforming how teams work, helping them achieve more in less time.

Can you tell us more about holograms and AI avatars and their potential and pragmatic perspective in e-meetings?

Zoom's vision for custom avatars for Zoom Clips is to help people get more done faster and scale their work easily. For instance, recording a Zoom Clip often requires multiple takes, which can be time-consuming. With the AI Companion, users can bypass this repetitive process as it creates the Clip, saving both time and effort.