In a world saturated with note-taking apps and productivity tools, few manage to break through the noise. Tana, a Palo Alto- and Norway-based startup, isn’t just offering another way to take notes. It’s building a fundamentally new kind of workspace—one that understands context, evolves with your knowledge, and acts before you even ask. And with $25 million in funding and a waitlist stacked with tech’s elite, the buzz is real.
A Workspace Designed for the Thinking Worker
Founded in 2021 by Tarjei Vassbotn, Olav S. Kriken, and Grim Iversen, Tana entered public consciousness in February 2025 when it emerged from stealth. What it revealed was more than an app: it was an AI-native ecosystem engineered to serve knowledge workers, teams, and organizations aiming to outpace the manual drag of traditional productivity workflows.
At its core, Tana integrates object-based note-taking, knowledge graphs, and AI agents into a fluid interface. But what sets it apart isn’t just the tech stack—it’s how the pieces interlock.
Structured Chaos, Made Useful
The secret sauce lies in features like Supertags, which turn chaotic, unstructured notes into structured, queryable databases on the fly. Then there’s the Voice Memos tool, capable of transforming audio into neatly organized, actionable data. Add to that Custom Feeds that proactively surface what matters most, and you get a system that feels less like software and more like a cognitive partner.
Tana isn’t trying to replace your brain. It’s trying to remove the friction between thought and action.
Not Just Hype: Tana Is Already in Use by Tech’s Elite
Tana didn’t build in a vacuum. Before its public launch, over 30,000 users tested the platform during its beta phase. A Slack community of 24,000+ offers ongoing feedback and ideation. And its current user base includes professionals from a roster of companies that reads like a who’s who of modern tech: Apple, Tesla, Stripe, Amazon, Figma, Meta, and more.
It’s not just individuals; organizations are embedding Tana into their workflows to empower their teams with smart knowledge capture and AI-augmented decision-making.
Backed by Builders, Not Just Bankers
With $25 million raised from investors like Tola Capital (who led the Series A), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northzone, and Alliance VC, Tana is stacked with runway. But what’s even more notable is the caliber of its angel backers. The list includes Dropbox’s Arash Ferdowsi, Google Maps creator Lars Rasmussen, and productivity guru Ali Abdaal. These aren’t just investors—they’re the archetypes of Tana’s ideal user: builders, creators, and knowledge-first professionals.
The AI-Native Future of Workspaces
Tana isn’t just playing in the AI productivity space; it’s helping to define it. Where most tools bolt AI onto an old model, Tana is reimagining the model from scratch. The result is a living workspace that grows more useful the more you use it.
For knowledge workers drowning in tabs, notes, and documents, Tana offers a lifeline. Not with more features, but with smarter connections.
Visit tana.inc to experience a new way of working that feels a lot like thinking. | Visit unirises.com to read more
