Zoom opens new 7,500 sq ft office in Singapore as part of Asia-Pacific expansion push

SINGAPORE: Zoom Communications, the company behind the widely used video-conferencing platform, opened its new Singapore office in Marina Bay on Thursday (Aug 21).

Located on the 24th floor of IOI Central Boulevard (West Tower), it will replace the company's previous office, which was located in a co-working space at Asia Square Tower 2.

The new office spans 7,500 sq ft, and employees can start using the space from next Monday onwards. Zoom also recently expanded its data infrastructure in Singapore.

"(Singapore) is so easy to get to, so well-connected, so business-friendly – it would be crazy not to open an office here," said Mr Steve Rafferty, head of EMEA and APAC at Zoom.

He noted that Zoom has more than 7,000 employees worldwide, and around half are located outside the US.

"(We have) a lot of plans to grow internationally, a lot of plans to grow APAC as a region, as one of our focus regions."

Mr Lucas Lu, Zoom's Asia head, said Singapore is an important market, and the number of employees was growing so the new office provides a better experience for them.

"While we had a facility, it was not to the same level. This is a proper Zoom office in that sense," he said, adding that the new office demonstrates the company's commitment to Singapore, which is a strategic location for Zoom to deepen collaboration.

And with Zoom's customers in Asia ranging from fully remote to in-office teams, the company is "embracing the best of both worlds" with the opening of its new office, he said.

"Our new Singapore space embodies our belief that true innovation happens where meaningful connections thrive – both in person and online."

Asked if the company is planning to hire more people in Singapore, Mr Lu said Zoom will build the team in Singapore in line with business needs and regional priorities.

The new facility also dedicates 2,000 sq ft to a Zoom Experience Hub for customers to come for personalised product demonstrations. The space is more than two times larger than the previous version at the co-working office and is more immersive.

"Essentially, the last one was one room. This is a very flexible space that we can customise and tailor, depending on what we're trying to do," he said.

During a media preview on Wednesday, Zoom representatives showcased the company's artificial intelligence companion, which has agentic capabilities that were rolled out this year.

The AI assistant can reschedule appointments, summarise chats, compare documents and use notes from previous meetings to help the user catch up.

Zoom also demonstrated its product for frontline workers who may not communicate with their employers through email.

Staff can punch in or out of work, check on their tasks and mark them as complete on the app. Messages sent on the app can also be translated into the user's preferred language.

The last product that was demonstrated was the Zoom Virtual Agent, which can answer customer service calls without using pre-recorded answers.

Instead, the AI agent is trained to handle situations, such as a customer who is unable to access his gym despite having an active membership.

The agent can then transfer calls to a human customer service officer if needed.