附近上门

Enterprise communications company has purchased whiteboard technology startup Kaptivo, the companies announced Thursday.

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Lifesize, which makes video conferencing software and meeting room devices, and technology for cloud contact centers, will bring Kaptivo鈥檚 20 or so employees into the company. Kaptivo CEO David Hsieh will become Lifesize鈥檚 general manager of advanced collaboration.聽

Kaptivo, which raised a $6 million Series A in 2018, turns whiteboards into digital collaboration tools through its whiteboard camera system. It鈥檚 a tool used by businesses like and , and educational institutions including the and for brainstorming, teaching and digital collaboration.

鈥淭his notion of virtual whiteboards and advanced collaboration became more important, particularly as people are working from home,鈥� Lifesize CEO Craig Malloy said of the company鈥檚 decision to buy Kaptivo.

鈥淰ideo communication is great, I can鈥檛 imagine doing work from home with just audio calls 鈥� but I think video communication and screen sharing, simple screen sharing, has been lacking,鈥� he said.

Malloy first came across Kaptivo a few years ago through an online ad, and was fascinated by the idea of digitizing a regular whiteboard. He ended up buying one and installing it in Lifesize鈥檚 office, telling the company鈥檚 engineers that they should integrate it with Lifesize鈥檚 product.

There鈥檚 been an increase in demand for Kaptivo鈥檚 products since the COVID-19 pandemic sent students and employees home to learn and work, according to Hsieh. As people started to work from home, they realized what tools they needed to be productive. And as anyone who鈥檚 been in a conference room for a brainstorming session will know, coming up with new ideas often involves grabbing a marker and drawing on a whiteboard.

鈥淲hen you’re working from home (collaborating to brainstorm) becomes much more difficult,鈥� Hsieh said. 鈥淪o we鈥檝e seen an increasing demand as people see their productivity disrupted because of a lack of tools.鈥�

Joining Lifesize was a 鈥渘atural fit,鈥� Hsieh said, as Kaptivo works better as part of a broader solution. The first step together is rolling out a new digital whiteboard product, co-built by the companies, that will be integrated into Lifesize.

Lifesize, which declined to disclose the purchase price of Kaptivo, plans on acquiring more companies to build out a suite of unified communications, Malloy said.聽

Illustration: Dom Guzman

Editor鈥檚 note: A previous version of this article incorrectly characterized Lifesize鈥檚 connection to cloud contact centers. The article above has been amended to reflect that Lifesize doesn鈥檛 operate cloud contact centers but rather provides technology that helps other companies operate contact centers.