Zoom Video Rival 'Pexip' Soars 54% on First Day of Listing

Norwegian Video Conferencing Service Provider Pexip

Shares Surge Up to 54% Intraday on First Day of Listing

MS and Google Enter the Market as Video Conferencing Demand Rises Due to COVID-19

▲Video conferencing service provided by Pexip. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] Pexip, a Norwegian video conferencing service provider regarded as a strong competitor to Zoom Video, saw its stock price surge up to 54% intraday on its first day listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. As demand increased due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), big tech companies including Microsoft, Google, and Facebook have entered the video conferencing service sector, turning it into a battleground for major tech firms.

According to major foreign media on the 14th (local time), Pexip was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange following its initial public offering (IPO) last week. The stock price soared from 63 kroner per share (approximately 7,621 KRW) to 97 kroner (about 11,600 KRW) during the day. The closing price was 87.50 kroner (10,600 KRW), marking a 38.9% increase. The market capitalization reached 8.6063 billion kroner (approximately 1.041 trillion KRW).

Pexip is known as the video conferencing service used by the German government and the U.S. military, earning a reputation as a strong competitor to Zoom Video. The perception that institutions handling confidential information trust and use the service has spread, indicating a high level of security. Pexip has emphasized its superior safety compared to competitors by allowing users to store data themselves, which it has used as a marketing point. Notably, on this day, Pexip conducted a remote roadshow using its video conferencing technology, earning the title of the first European company to successfully complete a remote IPO.

As the number of video conferencing users exploded, IT companies have rushed to enter the video conferencing service market. Until early this year, Zoom Video had only 10 million daily users, but after the spread of COVID-19, despite security concerns, the average daily users surged to 100 million. Google made its video conferencing app service, Google Meet, free for everyone until the end of September. Facebook also launched Messenger Rooms, and Microsoft (MS) released Teams. Capitalizing on Zoom’s security concerns, Google and MS marketed their services emphasizing stability, resulting in Google Meet usage increasing 25-fold compared to early this year, and MS Teams seeing a tenfold increase within a month.

Apple is also leveraging the COVID-19 crisis as a stepping stone to discover new business opportunities. On this day, Apple announced the acquisition of the virtual reality (AR) startup NextVR.

NextVR, based in California, USA, broadcasts events such as sports games and concerts in virtual reality. It primarily provides entertainment experiences to users of VR headset devices like PlayStation, Microsoft, and Oculus. In addition to its expertise, NextVR holds over 40 patents. CNBC analyzed, "This acquisition is evidence of Apple’s plan to enter the VR and augmented reality technology market as a new product category."

Specific transaction terms and amounts have not been disclosed. However, CNBC cited local IT media Nine to Five Mac, reporting that the deal was valued at approximately $100 million (about 123.1 billion KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.