Notion rides AI boom to $500 million in annual revenue, but Microsoft competition looms

The launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a significant turning point for the tech industry, igniting a surge in generative AI applications. Notion, a productivity software startup, swiftly embraced this trend by unveiling its own AI feature just weeks prior to ChatGPT's debut. Dubbed Notion AI, this tool serves as a writing assistant, aiding users in brainstorming, editing, and summarizing content. CEO Ivan Zhao emphasized in a blog post at the time that the potential of artificial intelligence is rapidly expanding. Notion's engagement with AI has proven fruitful, pushing the company’s annual revenue past the impressive $500 million mark, as reported to CNBC. This achievement has earned Notion a spot at 34th on CNBC's 2025 Disruptor 50 list. Recently, Notion introduced a customizable AI agent capable of generating documents and aggregating data from various sources, leveraging technology from OpenAI and Anthropic. Akshay Kothari, co-founder and operating chief of Notion, revealed in an interview that the company is striving to meet the increasing demand for AI tools within enterprises. Notion's clientele includes major corporations such as Kaiser Permanente, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nvidia, and Volvo Cars. Kothari noted, "We’re doubling this year and likely going to double the sales team next year," highlighting the strong demand. Founded in 2013, Notion has grown significantly since its inception, boasting around 1,000 employees and over 100 million users. Despite the influx of generative AI, Notion has not pursued external funding in recent years, with its last significant round occurring in 2021, raising $275 million at a valuation of $10 billion. In May, Notion rolled out AI-driven products designed to summarize meetings and search corporate files. Kothari mentioned that the company has experienced consistent revenue growth since the introduction of these tools. The recent announcement also included a preview of custom agents, which can automate tasks like sending weekly curated articles based on user interests. An increase in the adoption of AI add-ons has been notable, with the percentage of paying customers for these features rising from 10-20% last year to over 50% recently. Notion has begun integrating AI into its business and enterprise plans at no additional charge while discussing fair pricing models for custom agents with clients. As productivity software remains a fiercely competitive sector, Microsoft and Google are major players. Following Notion's 2021 funding, Microsoft launched Loop, a document collaboration app, and is promoting its AI assistant, Copilot, which generates Word documents and Outlook emails. Meanwhile, Google has introduced the Gemini AI capability for its Workspace applications. In a notable endorsement, Ramp, a business credit card startup, has transitioned its teams to utilize Notion's AI features for improved productivity, with a significant portion of its workforce now engaged with the platform's capabilities.