Notetaking app Goodnotes invests $1.9M in digital stationary firm WeBudding

Weeks after launching a digital stationary retailer inside the app, notetaking firm Goodnotes mentioned as we speak it has invested $1.9 million into South Korea-based digital stationary firm WeBudding.

WeBudding was based by Donghwan Shin, Donggyun Ko, and Chaeyoung Lee in 2018. The trio began by promoting bodily paper notebooks catered in the direction of college college students, however ultimately, they made a digital pivot. Now it sells varied digital stationary objects reminiscent of planners, journals, stickers, and notebooks. The corporate instructed Information World that 80% of its gross sales come from cell whereas 20% of it comes from its web sites.

Other than the funding from Goodnotes, WeBudding has additionally received a $200,000 funding from Sturdy Ventures — making this a $2.1 million Collection A spherical. The digital stationary startup has obtained $4.7 million in funding up to now.  Whereas the corporate didn’t disclose the precise valuation, it instructed Information World that the newest spherical introduced a 52% leap in valuation.

WeBudding already hosted a whole lot of Goodnotes-compatible property on its platforms. With the current Goodnotes retailer launch and the strategic funding, WeBudding plans to develop globally related content material for the notetaking app’s retailer.

Shin, CEO of the digital stationery startup, mentioned that WeBudding is seeking to enhance its cell app and in addition work on content material localization for various international locations.

“We’re additionally engaged on increasing our choices to issues like KakaoTalk [a South Korea-based chat app] themes. Moreover, we wish to work with well-known IPs reminiscent of entertainers and musicians to create branded digital stationary,” Chin mentioned.

WeBudding mentioned that it has 2,500 creators on board with greater than 16,000 objects within the retailer. It didn’t disclose the way it compensates these creators and what number reduce the corporate takes from the gross sales of the digital stationary.

In August, Goodnotes up to date its app in 4 years with options reminiscent of AI-powered handwriting and a digital market. The corporate, which received the iPad App of the 12 months award from Apple in 2022, has 21 million month-to-month energetic customers.