Welcome to the new work-from-home family life

Welcome to the new work-from-home family life: conducted, increasingly, over Zoom. As the coronavirus ravages the planet, leading to quarantined cities, states sheltering in place and schools and universities closing down worldwide, Zoom has emerged as one of the leading tools to keep businesses up and running, students learning and people connected through virtual birthday parties, happy hours and yoga classes

With a net worth of $5.5 billion and one of the richest self-made newcomers on this year’s World’s Billionaires list (out April 7)—Eric Yuan is helping millions survive social distancing and remote work by giving away his videoconferencing tool for free. The move has earned him much respect, and when the pandemic has passed, his business will likely be stronger than ever.

But in the midst of a global crisis, can his app withstand a 610% spike virtually overnight and the scrutiny of privacy and security researchers, watchdogs and government officials?

“The most interesting and most challenging thing about this new look into Zoom has been how fast the story keeps moving,” says Alex Konrad, senior editor covering venture capital and cloud companies. “Reporting has been unpredictable, exhausting, but rewarding to hear directly from the source during such a historic and complicated moment. It speaks to the double-sided nature of overnight success and fame, and how a leader responds in times of great strain and scrutiny, both good and bad.”