Google once considered acquiring Zoom because 'several thousand' employees preferred it to Google's own product

• Zoom was once so popular inside Google that some engineers weighed the idea of an acquisition in 2018, according to a new report from The Information.
• At the time, 'several thousand' Google employees were using Zoom instead of Google's own videoconferencing software.
• Discussions never got more serious, and instead Google and Zoom have gone on to become rivals. Google recently banned use of the Zoom app on employee computers.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The coronavirus has been a boon to videoconferencing startup Zoom, as people have sought out new ways to connect under stay-at-home orders. It's also lit a fire under Google to improve its own video chat product.

But Zoom was once so popular inside Google that some Google Cloud engineers toyed with the idea of acquiring Zoom in 2018, according to The Information.

The report claims that "several thousand" Google employees were using Zoom instead of Google's own Hangouts Meet product at the time.

Discussions of an acquisition reportedly went as far as evaluating a "reasonable" price and calculating the cost of running Zoom on Google's servers. The discussions don't appear to have gone beyond that. According to the report, Zoom was "one of several" companies that Google's engineers were weighing up at the time.

What's more, a spokesperson for Google Cloud told The Information that the company "has never seriously evaluated acquiring Zoom." A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The report paints a picture of an alternate timeline where Google would now dominate the videoconferencing space. In reality, Google went on compete with Zoom with its own videoconferencing product. But Google's messaging strategy has proven messy and confusing, with a seemingly-endless string of rebrands.

The company has been rolling out updates to its Zoom rival Google Meet, which until recently was known as "Google Hangouts Meet."

The Information also claims that the company has been telling resellers of its service that it is stepping up efforts to compete against Zoom, highlighting Meet's security features as its competitor has faced a flurry of privacy issues.

Business Insider recently reported that Google had banned the Zoom app from employee computers, citing "security vulnerabilities" as the reason, however employees are still allowed to access it via the web browser and use it on their phones.

In the company's Q1 earnings call last week, CEO Sundar Pichai said that Google was adding around 3 million Meet users a day, which is up from the 2 million per day that the company saw in March.

But while Google is still chasing Zoom's lead, Zoom recently walked back its claim of having 300 million active daily users, clarifying that it actually has 300 million daily meeting participants.