When Zoom launched Zoom Apps and the market as a point of sale last year, it was a big signal that the company wanted to be more than just a popular video conferencing app. He wanted to be a platform, which developers could use to build apps on top of Zoom.

Today, the company announced a $ 100 million investment fund to encourage the most promising startups to use the Zoom toolset to launch a business by providing them with funding, while using it as a springboard to encourage other developers to take advantage of the platform’s tools.

“We’re looking for companies with a viable product and early market traction, and a commitment to grow and invest in the Zoom ecosystem,” Zoom’s Colin Born wrote in a blog post announcing the new program.

The company’s business development team, with strong involvement from the Zoom management team, will be in charge of the selection and management of portfolio companies. The company plans to invest between $ 250,000 and $ 2.5 million in each startup in the portfolio.

“A lot of this helps facilitate these early ventures and give them access to the resources and connections within Zoom, so they can grow and succeed,” Brendan Ittelson, CTO of Zoom, told me.

While the company wants to invest successfully, a big part of this is using the fund to encourage developers to take advantage of Zoom’s platform offerings. “We think we will help [these startups] building these valuable and engaging experiences and by having that and investing we are helping to deliver solutions and further expand the ecosystem and our customers should benefit, ”he said.

Zoom has a number of developer tools that budding entrepreneurs can use to build applications that take advantage of the Zoom functionality. In March, the company released an SDK (Software Development Kit) designed to help programmers integrate Zoom functionality into other applications.

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The company also provides tools to integrate an app inside Zoom, such as an app designed for a specific purpose, like education or health, and it has created a centralized space to learn more about developer. zoom.us.

Zoom isn’t the only one investing in companies that build apps on its platform. Companies like Sequoia, Maven Ventures and Emergence Capital have already started investing in startups creating businesses in addition to Zoom, including Mmhmm, Docket and ClassEdu.

The fund offers start-up founders another option to get funding to get their idea off the ground. Ittelson says all of the investments will be start-up investments for newbies, and that they will provide development and business resources to help young startups build and distribute their products.

While he says the company will be on the lookout for promising startups to include in the portfolio, interested entrepreneurs can apply directly at zoom.com/fund.