After its failed attempt to purchase Five9 last year, Zoom is once again looking to bolster its nascent contact center software proposition. Video conferencing giant Zoom has announced it is acquiring Solvvy, a California-based startup which specializes in conversational AI and automation solutions for the contact center. Founded in 2013, Solvvy offers an AI-powered self-service customer support agent aimed at easing the load on customer support teams by dealing with simple requests before handing over to a human agent. Customers include technology companies like Calendly, Calm, Seat Geek, and Scribd. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed and the deal is expected to close in Q2 of Zoom’s fiscal year 2023, with Zoom incorporating Solvvy’s software and team into its contact center platform offering. This is not the first time Zoom has looked to buy companies operating in the customer experience space. Having announced its intention to move into the contact center space at Zoomtopia in 2021, the failed acquisition of cloud-contact center company Five9 a month later saw Zoom press pause on its plans. Then, in February 2022, Zoom launched its own “video-optimized” contact center platform. in a blog post, president of product and engineering at Zoom, Velchamy Sankarlingam, wrote that the acquisition of Solvvy will help Zoom give customers “automated, integrated, and easy-to-deploy” contact center software. “With our shared focus and priorities, we will be able to capitalize on new opportunities in contact center and customer support, and long-term, we see tremendous potential to unlock new opportunities where highly personalized, video-based service can be a key differentiator,” he wrote. Related content opinion GenAI is to data visibility what absolute zero is to a hot summer day Given the plethora of privacy rules already in place in Europe, how are companies with shiny, new, not-understood genAI tools supposed to comply? (Hint: they can’t.) By Evan Schuman May 06, 2024 6 mins Data Privacy GDPR Generative AI news How many jobs are available in technology in the US? Tech unemployment was down slightly in April, but AI hiring was up — way up. And job listings showed more signs of a shift in recruiting practices with a growing emphasis on skill-based hiring. By Lucas Mearian May 06, 2024 160 mins Remote Work Salaries Financial Services Industry news With its new iPad, Apple's Empire strikes back Apple is preparing to introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models as it seeks to regain momentum in the tablet market. By Jonny Evans May 06, 2024 5 mins iPad Apple Tablets opinion Can AI tools help reduce Zoom fatigue? When it comes to meetings, whether in person or on video, can anything make them better? Yes, but it’s not the technology. By Steven Vaughan-Nichols May 06, 2024 5 mins Augmented Reality Generative AI Zoom Video Communications Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe