32. Notion

Founders: Ivan Zhao (CEO), Simon Last, Akshay Kothari
Launched: 2012
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding: $343.2 million
Valuation: $10 billion
Key technologies: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, low code/no code software
Industry: Enterprise technology
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 0

Companies today deploy 89 different software tools on a daily basis, according to a 2022 study by Okta. That's a lot of juggling of applications by employees.

In fact, it's not unusual to have five applications and 15 browser tabs open at the same time. Jumping from one app to another takes a toll on employees' attention — was that in Trello, Slack or email? Notion, a productivity and collaboration platform, wants to reduce that "context switching" by creating an all-in-one workspace. 

Companies use it to streamline project management, enabling teams to track projects by creating task lists and project schedules in a shared calendar, storing and sharing files, and more. The platform connects with Jira, Slack, GitHub, Asana and others, enabling users to check what's going on in other platforms within Notion. Users can add or preview Dropbox files without leaving the platform or easily share Zoom meeting details. It also lets users create customized workflows using Zapier, Make and Tray.io.

2022 was an eventful year for Notion. The company increased its customer base by 240% to 20 million users. It also launched several new features and services. Notion acquired the calendar app Cron in June and workflow app Flowdash in July. In August, Notion released Teamspaces, a feature catering to companies that need more flexibility to adapt their workflow and organization. It also launched an AI-powered writing assistant, Notion AI, in November.

On the financial front, Notion raised $275 million through a round of funding led by Coatue and Sequoia. It also named its first CFO, Rama Katkar, formerly an Instacart vice president.

The market for cloud-based productivity and collaboration platforms flourished during the pandemic but could shift as companies cut back on costs amid an uncertain economic outlook. It's also getting awfully crowded. Besides Notion, there's Monday.com, Todoist, Trello, Coda, 2023 No. 42 Disruptor company Airtable, Clickup, and more. Giants such as Microsoft or Google are also adding to their workplace bundles.