20-year-old dropouts built AI notetaker Turbo AI to 5 million users

In a remarkable rise, Turbo AI has quickly amassed five million users and is generating eight-figure annual recurring revenue, all thanks to two 20-year-old college dropouts, Rudy Arora and Sarthak Dhawan. Launched in early 2024, this innovative AI-powered notetaking and study tool has experienced explosive growth, adding 20,000 new users daily over the past six months. The concept for Turbo AI originated from a common challenge faced by students: the struggle to take notes during lectures while remaining engaged. CEO Sarthak Dhawan shared his experience, stating, "I always found it difficult to take notes because I couldn't listen to the teacher and write at the same time. I wondered, what if I could use AI to solve this?" This curiosity led them to develop Turbolearn, which enables users to record lectures and automatically create notes, flashcards, and quizzes. Initially shared among friends, the app rapidly gained traction at universities like Duke and Northwestern, where the founders were enrolled before deciding to drop out. Its popularity soon spread to prestigious institutions such as Harvard and MIT. Turbo AI enhances the traditional note-taking process by incorporating interactive elements like study notes and quizzes, along with a chat assistant that clarifies key concepts. To address challenges with recording in noisy environments, the app now allows users to upload PDFs, lectures, and videos, which has become a prevalent feature. Users have reported significant benefits, with Dhawan noting, "Students upload lengthy lectures and tackle numerous quiz questions in a row. They're clearly finding value in the product, as it saves time and aids in information retention." While originally aimed at students, professionals across various fields, including consulting, law, and finance, have also embraced Turbo AI. They utilize the tool to summarize reports or convert them into podcasts for convenient listening during commutes. Arora and Dhawan, friends since middle school, have a history of collaboration on various projects. Dhawan's previous venture, UMax, achieved impressive success as a top-ranked app with 20 million users and $6 million in annual revenue. Arora excels in leveraging social media to drive user growth, a unique skill set that has proven beneficial in their startup journey. Unlike many fast-paced AI companies, they are cautiously approaching funding, having raised only $750,000 last year before experiencing significant growth. The duo aims to maintain profitability while exploring pricing strategies that accommodate students' budgets, with subscriptions currently priced at approximately $20 per month. As Turbo AI positions itself between traditional tools like Google Docs and fully automated solutions, it has become the go-to name for students seeking AI-driven notetaking solutions, setting itself apart from competitors like YouLearn. As Dhawan stated, "Now, when students think of an AI notetaker or study tool, we’re the first ones that come to mind."