An early Zoom investor reportedly made over $1.5 billion during the company's stunning surge

• An early investor and former board member of Zoom Video made big gains from the company's surge in profits, Bloomberg reported Friday.
• Samuel Chen's firm Digital Mobile Venture participated in Zoom's early funding rounds and now has a 3.8% stake in the video-conferencing juggernaut.
• Chen reportedly said he considered himself "lucky" to have had the early investment opportunity in Zoom.
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About a decade ago, Samuel Chen, a little-known investor from Taiwan, began to invest in the now popular video-conferencing app Zoom, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Fast forward a 10 years and Chen's stake in Zoom is worth more than $1 billion, Bloomberg reported. Chen — who once sat on Zoom's board — controls around 3.8% of the company through his firm Digital Mobile Venture.

His company participated in Zoom's early funding rounds, and controls a $1.6 billion stake on the assumption that its stock holdings are the same from its last disclosure at the end of March, Bloomberg said.

Chen's firm is the biggest shareholder of a navigation software maker in California called Telenav. Telenav's chief executive H.P. Jin reportedly introduced Chen to Zoom's founder Eric Yuan.

Chen, who is also a board member of Taiwanese circuit-maker Sonix Technology, does not engage in daily operations of the firm, Bloomberg said, citing Shumin Huang, a spokesperson for Sonix.

He considers himself lucky with respect to his investment in Zoom, according to Huang.

Zoom Video shot to stock-market fame after the coronavirus pandemic led to employees and workers staying home and using the video-conferencing technology to conduct remote meetings.

Zoom, which trades with the ticker ZM, is up roughly 229% year-to-date. Its spiralling popularity makes its shares an interesting bet for investors.

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