Evernote founder Phil Libin is ready to liven up your video meetings. The entrepreneur’s video startup, mmhmm, launched in 2020 amid the pandemic, on Thursday unveiled its latest product: a video toolkit for online meetings called Airtime. The suite includes two related tools: a virtual camera that helps you appear more polished on video calls, and a presentation tool that allows you and your colleagues to appear on screen as your present your slides.
The company thinks these products will help make online meetings more engaging and professional, as today people tend to show up to meetings in more casual dress, with bad backgrounds, or choose to just keep their cameras off. The new tools are meant to encourage users to engage with meetings and be more memorable.
With Airtime Creator, as the tool is called, instead of just showing slides, you present them to your audience. Up to 10 people can also appear on screen at the same time, if you choose.
If the product sounds familiar, that’s because it’s effectively the successor to mmhmm’s original offering. The rebranded tool includes everything from the initial version, and can be used to build presentations where you’re the focus, the company says. It also includes controls that let you customize the look, background, and the presentation’s content and layout.
Airtime Camera is another new product that lets you create custom looks to stand out in online meetings conducted over Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, and other services. With the camera, you can design or tint your background, add a logo, and react using visuals or GIFs. The idea is that these types of customizations can help you attract more attention when you’re in a sea of heads in an online meeting, or they can help you reinforce your brand.
In addition to launching the tools, mmhmm itself is taking on the name Airtime as its official brand. Existing customers who have the mmhmm app installed on their desktop will see the app name and icon change with the next launch, and they’ll receive both tools, Airtime Creator, and Airtime Camera. (Web users will see the change immediately.)
The name of mmhmm’s virtual camera will also be updated to “Airtime” in the meeting software’s settings.
The startup formerly known as mmhmm is backed by Sequoia Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund, and others, having previously closed on $100 million in outside capital.
The company notes that the Airtime Camera will be free until August 1, allowing customers to try the new product. It will then be available for a one-time fee of $20 to continue using. The Airtime Creator tool, however, is available as a $10 per month subscription but offers a free trial.
