Notion just crossed a massive milestone - $500 million in annual revenue - powered almost entirely by its AI transformation. The productivity startup that jumped on generative AI two weeks before ChatGPT launched is now racing to stay ahead of Microsoft and Google in the enterprise workspace wars, with over 50% of customers now paying for AI features.
Notion just proved that timing beats everything in the AI gold rush. The productivity startup crossed $500 million in annual revenue - a milestone that puts it squarely in unicorn territory - by making one crucial bet: launching AI features two weeks before OpenAI dropped ChatGPT on the world.
That November 2022 move now looks prescient. "We're at an important inflection point," CEO Ivan Zhao wrote back then, according to the company's original blog post. "The potential of artificial intelligence has grown exponentially, and will continue to grow." He wasn't wrong - Notion's revenue has basically doubled as AI adoption exploded across its 100 million user base.
The numbers tell the whole story. Last year, only 10% to 20% of Notion customers were paying for AI add-ons. That shot up to 30% or 40% earlier this year and just crossed 50%, co-founder Akshay Kothari told CNBC. The company's now including AI in business and enterprise plans without extra charges - a sign they're confident this isn't just a fad.
Thursday's launch of custom AI agents ups the ante considerably. These aren't just writing assistants - they're autonomous workers that can pull data from multiple sources, create documents, and even send weekly summaries tailored to individual interests. It's Notion's direct challenge to Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, the AI assistants embedded in Office 365 and Workspace respectively.
The timing couldn't be more critical. Microsoft launched Loop in 2021 - a direct Notion competitor that became widely available in 2023 with Office 365 subscriptions. Google meanwhile keeps pushing Gemini across its productivity suite. But Notion's grabbing enterprise customers anyway. Corporate clients now include Kaiser Permanente, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nvidia, and Volvo Cars.
"We're doubling this year and likely going to double the sales team next year," Kothari said in the interview. About 90% of Notion's business comes from "multiplayer usage" - teams rather than individual users. That enterprise focus is paying off big time, especially as companies scramble to integrate AI into their workflows without switching their entire tech stack.
