Craft
Craft is a note-taking and document app built for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
On the record
Checkpoint: Deadline for naming a permanent CEO and new funding or wedge strategy
The call
Craft built a well-loved app but lost its founders and its best AI product to Polymarket, leaving no clear leader and no wall against Apple or AI-native rivals.
Craft makes a note-taking app designed to look and feel better than competitors like Apple Notes and Microsoft OneNote. The problem is that Apple, Microsoft, and Google can all copy its design easily, and the AI writing help that made Craft stand out is becoming free in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini anyway. The company lost both its founders and its best AI product to another company in mid-2026 with no new CEO in place, which is a red flag that suggests the team and vision that built Craft are gone. One thing that could turn this around: hiring a strong new leader within the next six months and either raising new money or getting bought by someone who believes in the product.
Why
01
AI pressure: Apple Intelligence, Claude, GPT, Gemini native writing tools. Free AI writing and summarization inside Notes, Word, and Docs erases the reason to pay for Craft's Assistant. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Apple (Notes + Apple Intelligence). Apple ships the same note-taking UX and now bundled AI features for free on every device Craft depends on. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. A loyal small paying base of about 50,000 customers and a stable engineering team, but no lock-in beyond habit.
What would change this call
Craft Docs Ltd. names a permanent CEO by Q1 2027. Shows whether the company can stabilize leadership after the founder exit.
A new fundraise or acquisition of the core Craft app is announced. Shows whether investors still see a viable standalone business.
Apple Intelligence adds deeper writing/summarization features to Notes. Shows Craft's AI Assistant differentiation getting absorbed into free OS-level tools.
A new fundraise or acquisition of the core Craft app is announced. Shows whether investors still see a viable standalone business.
Apple Intelligence adds deeper writing/summarization features to Notes. Shows Craft's AI Assistant differentiation getting absorbed into free OS-level tools.
Key numbers
- Over 1 million active users, 50,000+ paying customers
- Total funding raised: about $20 million
- Engineering team: 20 people, ~4yr median tenure
Named risks
- No permanent CEO named for Craft Docs Ltd after founder and co-founder exit, as of July 2026.
- Loss of Craft Agents, its most praised AI product, and part of the team to Polymarket in June 2026.
- AI writing/summarization features commoditized by free Apple Intelligence and Microsoft Copilot bundles.
- No new funding round since September 2022, limiting capital for competing against giants.
- Small scale, ~50,000 paying customers, versus Notion, Obsidian, and platform incumbents.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | contesting | Cited as stronger for databases/team collaboration vs Craft's writing feel, as of 2026-06-01 |
| Apple Notes / Apple Intelligence | losing to | Free OS-bundled AI writing/summarization erodes Craft's paid AI differentiation, 2026 |
| Obsidian | contesting | Power-user local-first Markdown alternative with large plugin ecosystem, cited 2026-06-27 |
| Microsoft (Word/OneNote Copilot) | losing to | Free bundled Copilot AI writing commoditizes Craft's core AI assistant feature |
| Polymarket | losing to | Acquired Craft's best AI product (Craft Agents) and both top execs on 2026-06-26 |
Questions people ask
- Is Craft profitable in 2026?
- No public profitability data exists for Craft. The private company has raised roughly $20M total by September 2022, discloses no revenue figures, and reports 50,000+ paying customers as of January 27, 2026, per The Pragmatic Engineer.
- Who owns Craft the note-taking app?
- Craft Docs Ltd, based in Budapest, is privately venture-backed. Founder Balint Orosz left to become Polymarket's VP of Product Engineering on June 26, 2026, and no new CEO for Craft Docs Ltd had been named as of July 2026.
- Could AI replace Craft's note-taking app?
- Craft's AI writing and summarization features overlap with free tools like Apple Intelligence, Microsoft Copilot, and Claude, and its own most praised AI product, Craft Agents, was acquired by Polymarket on June 26, 2026, weakening its differentiation.
- Who is Craft's biggest competitor?
- Craft competes with Notion and Obsidian in note-taking, but the bigger long-term threat is free OS-bundled tools like Apple Notes with Apple Intelligence and Microsoft OneNote with Copilot, which commoditize its AI writing edge.
- Did Craft lose its AI product?
- Yes. On June 26, 2026, prediction-market platform Polymarket acquired Craft Agents, the agentic AI tool Craft had open-sourced on January 19, 2026, and took founder Balint Orosz and co-founder Viktor Páli along with it.
- How much funding has Craft raised?
- Craft Docs Ltd raised an $8M Series A in April 2021 led by Creandum and a $12.2M Series B in September 2022 led by EBRD Venture Capital, totaling roughly $20M, with no new round reported since 2022.
Timeline
- 2026-06-26Polymarket acquires Craft Agents; Orosz becomes Polymarket VP Product Eng, Paali becomes Polymarket CEO
- 2026-05-19Craft Agents evolved into product built on Anthropic Claude models
- 2026-02-03Craft mandates company-wide AI tool use across all teams
- 2026-01-19Craft open-sources Craft Agents under Apache 2.0 license
- 2025-12Major overhaul of Craft AI Assistant, called sticky and popular by founder
- 2022-11-28Craft launches AI Assistant powered by GPT-3
- 2022-09-04Craft raises $12.2M Series B led by EBRD Venture Capital
- 2021-04-01Craft Docs secures $8M Series A led by Creandum
- 2020-11Craft launches publicly
- 2019-07Craft founded by Balint Orosz
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Craft (productivity software) (2026-02-05)
- Collaborative iOS app Craft Docs secures $8M (2021-04-01)
- Craft raises $12m in Series B round (2022-09-04)
- Inside a five-year-old startup's rapid AI makeover (2026-01-27)
- EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki (2026-03-18)
- Craft's new assistant and the future of AI (2022-11-28)
- Introduction (2026-05-19)
- How we hire in 2026 (2026-02-03)
- Polymarket acquires Craft Agents, appoints Viktor Páli CEO (2026-06-27)
- Polymarket Buys AI Agent Builders (2026-06-27)
- Craft Pricing Plans
- Craft Docs Revenue, Funding & Valuation (2022-10-04)