VinaCapital Ventures invests in video tech firm Quickom

VinaCapital Ventures, the technology investment arm of VinaCapital Group, on March 6 announced that it has invested in Quickom, a Vietnam-based video conferencing communication provider with proprietary and US-patented technology. VinaCapital Ventures is leading the current $1.5 million seed funding round.

Quickom was founded in 2021 by Dr. William H. Nguyen, a highly regarded Vietnamese technology pioneer and serial entrepreneur with a history of successful ventures in communications technology, education, and computer networking and data security, serving tens of millions of users worldwide. He currently holds three U.S. patents in the field of communication technology.

Nguyen said that the company was delighted to welcome VinaCapital Ventures as one of its investors.

Hoang Duc Trung, a partner at VinaCapital Ventures, stated that Vietnam is quickly closing the gap in terms of technological advancement, and the digital transformation of the economy is well underway.

“Quickom is a perfect example of one of the startups leading the way. Its solutions are innovative and advanced, addressing important current issues such as cybersecurity and data privacy as well as future cyberspace threats. We are thrilled to be one of Quickom’s early investors and are excited to see where they take the business,” Trung added.

Since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, nine out of ten organisations have adopted a hybrid model combining remote and on-site working, according to McKinsey research.

To facilitate this surging demand, most video-conferencing providers rely heavily on centralised data centres which present significant challenges, including inefficient resource utilisation and costly scaleup. These centres also require substantial reserves of uplink and downlink bandwidth as they serve as singular access points, making them prone to congestion during periods of heavy traffic.

Quickom’s solution differs from other conferencing providers by utilising a decentralised peer-hosted network architecture that enables data transmission directly between users or nodes, bypassing the need for a centralised data centre. The decentralised network employs an algorithm that extracts unused bandwidth and processing power to process and route video, audio and other data, significantly bringing down the overall costs associated with hosting virtual calls. Its solution also reduces network congestion, resulting in stable and high-quality calls as well as lower operating expenses, maintenance costs and energy waste.

Amid growing concerns about online privacy in video conferencing and strict government regulations, Quickom is gaining traction as a private- and secure-first enterprise-grade video communication provider with its technical capabilities and strong commitment to security and privacy. It has successfully deployed its solutions with prominent domestic and international enterprises as well as multiple Vietnamese government agencies. It also offers video conferencing as a subscription service.

In 2023, Quickom hosted 500+ livestreaming events on its platform. The company has cooperated with several large organisers including the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC), Techfest Vietnam, HOZO, and ETH Vietnam. With these and other top-tier clients, Quickom expects its top-line revenue will grow by more than 100 per cent year-on-year over the next three years.

Quickom is leveraging and innovating its current technology for the Web3 segment, which will serve as a transformation growth driver into the next generation of the internet. Quickom has taken a first step in this initiative with Chat3, a new platform to redefine SocialFi, which combines social media with decentralised finance to allow users to monetise their online presence and interactions through blockchain technology.

Since its launch four months ago, Chat3 has gained popularity with the global Web3 community and was recently funded by Arche Fund, a prominent Web3 venture capital fund in Southeast Asia, and granted by Mantle, a blockchain backed by Mirana Ventures and Bybit Exchange.

Past economic gains hint at Olympic-sized potential Investment management firm VinaCapital is betting on Vietnam to vault onto the Olympic stage in two decades, mirroring the leaps and bounds made by Asian neighbours.

Hoiana Resort & Golf and VinaCapital raise funds for sick children The 'One heart - Thousand beats' initiative is a partnership between Hoiana Resort & Golf and VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) to raise awareness about congenital heart defects (CHD) in children.

Vietnam: a real estate market rebound in the making Mortgage rates peaked at as high as 16 per cent at some banks in early 2023 but subsequently dropped dramatically. They are now comparable to levels that prevailed before the government’s aggressive policy rate hikes last year sent borrowing rates soaring. Nevertheless, a full revival of sentiment and transaction activity is not likely until mid-2024.