London-based startup Goodnotes, known for its notetaking services, has extended its reach by acquiring South Korean startup Dropthebit, the creator of Traw, a tool for meeting and video summaries. This acquisition enables Goodnotes to expand its offerings beyond the educational realm and create productivity tools targeting professionals. With Traw’s innovative technology integration, Goodnotes aims to revolutionize how teams collaborate and communicate by streamlining the meeting and video summaries process. This strategic acquisition is anticipated to strengthen the company’s global presence and attract a broader range of users, including businesses looking to improve their productivity and efficiency.

Following the acquisition, Dropthebit’s three co-founders will become part of the Goodnotes team, and Traw’s services will be discontinued in February. Current customers will be given the option to export their data before the closure. Integrating Dropthebit’s expertise and technology is expected to significantly improve Goodnotes’ digital note-taking capabilities, paving the way for a more seamless user experience. Goodnotes is committed to ensuring a smooth transition for Traw’s existing customers, including providing help and support for exporting data before the platform is shut down.

Established in 2020, Dropthebit initially concentrated on developing a whiteboard solution before focusing on meeting summarization and launching an AI-driven tool for summarizing and organizing YouTube videos in 2022. In just a short period, the company has successfully created a platform that enables users to extract critical insights and information from hours of online content quickly and efficiently. Dropthebit’s innovative solution has quickly gained recognition as a powerful tool in time management and knowledge acquisition within the growing educational and professional communities.

Goodnotes founder Steven Chan believes this progress complements the company’s existing products, which started as an iPad app in 2011 and now offer digital notebook-like solutions for students. In an interview, Chan emphasized the importance of seamless integration between physical and digital note-taking for enhancing students’ learning experiences. He also discussed how Goodnotes’ commitment to improving its software has been a significant factor in developing new features to better cater to the needs and preferences of instructors and students alike.

Incorporating Traw’s technology will allow Goodnotes to provide a “paperless digital notebook” for professionals. Currently, Goodnotes has over 24 million monthly active users, and this acquisition will enable the company to explore the transcription market and develop support for YouTube and in-house company videos.

Featured Image Credit: Ketut Subiyanto; Pexels