reMarkable, maker of a focus-friendly e-paper pill, says it closed funding at a $1B+ valuation after selling 1M devices – TechCrunch

{Hardware}, because the saying goes, is difficult; however there stays a chance for startups that concentrate on particular niches to construct viable companies. Within the newest instance, reMarkable, the Oslo, Norway-based maker of a easy and slick $299 e-paper pill of the identical identify, says that it has handed 1 million devices bought since 2017 and just lately raised cash at a $1 billion valuation after making revenues of $300 million and working income of $31 million in 2021.

Founder and CEO Magnus Wanberg mentioned reMarkable isn’t disclosing the quantity of the funding, nor who was concerned, besides to say that it’s a minority stake within the firm and that it got here from a number of worldwide (not Norwegian) traders. The corporate employs 300+ folks and Wanberg says it continues to be “majority worker owned.”

“Nothing’s fishy however we’re protecting it confidential,” he mentioned once I requested why the reticence on the funding. He famous that whereas the deal was made final 12 months, the startup is disclosing it now as “a good indication, a sign out to the world” of how the corporate is doing. “That is simply sprinkles for us,” he mentioned greater than as soon as throughout our interview.

Spark, which led a $15 million funding into the corporate in 2019 (when it had bought a mere 100,000 devices), stays a shareholder within the firm, Wanberg added. And it appears that the startup is open to elevating extra to spend money on development (maybe one more reason for talking about its newest funding now).

reMarkable’s development and milestone funding are exceptional (sorry needed to do it) in themselves, however what can also be attention-grabbing is to think about why and the way a firm like reMarkable is discovering traction.

A big quantity of customers positively don’t appear to thoughts being very on-line, however there may be positively a seam of customers on the lookout for methods to make use of new expertise that doesn’t at the identical time spell being locked into the litany of pings and distractions that include a lot linked expertise at the moment. And more and more we’re seeing firms constructing for that seam of customers. reMarkable is one of them. Wanberg believes that this firm’s success so far is due largely to the main target it has on “focus.”

“The long run of the pill as we see it is within the route that Apple and others are heading, a fusion of laptop computer and pill kinds,” which enhances how folks additionally use smartphones, he mentioned in an interview. “However our providing is a third gadget, a focussed area for books, drawing and notes, the place you’ll be able to actually keep away from distractions and procrastination. That’s our positioning.”

Even its small concessions to aesthetics — the sound and really feel of reMarkable’s pen on its display screen are extra akin to a writing utensil shifting throughout paper than a stylus gliding on the glass of your iPad — really feel in support of attempting to assist folks neglect they’re utilizing a piece of electronics.

The corporate’s enterprise mannequin was initially banked round selling {hardware}, which at the moment is utilized by “a whole lot of hundreds” of lively customers. The corporate’s reMarkable 2 mannequin, launched in 2020 because the COVID-19 outbreak went world, actually rode the wave of extra folks doing extra issues at residence and looking for extra nuanced makes use of for his or her quiet time.

However in October of final 12 months reMarkable made a wager on aligning itself nearer with that concept of focus, launching a subscription service known as Join.

Whereas others like Apple have additionally constructed out recurring providers companies primarily based round its {hardware}, this was an particularly vital milestone for reMarkable, which has solely launched two devices since being based in 2013 and touts that you don’t want to purchase a new gadget for at least 10 years whenever you purchase one.

Billed month-to-month in two tiers (regular at $7.99/month and “lite” at $4.99/month), Join is how the startup plans to make a substantial half of its cash going ahead (certainly, once I requested it declined to provide any projections for gadget gross sales for 2022). Amongst its options, Join gives steady software program updates; cloud storage; connectivity with Dropbox, Google Drive and One Drive if you need it; an prolonged guarantee for the pill; handwriting conversion; display screen sharing and a function to ship by e mail — in different phrases, a few options to get info into and out of your reMarkable pill, however in any other case nothing particularly real-time and dynamic.

On this means, though it calls itself a pill, the reMarkable is extra like an e-reader, Wanberg mentioned.

“With an E-reader and also you personal and use it for fairly a very long time,” he defined. “In our enterprise, it’s not a new-model-every-year dynamic. There isn’t a emphasis on new mannequin possession. We don’t need to pressure our firm to slap on some iteration for the sake of it. There may be true innovation, main steps in phrases of what we will supply the shopper. We additionally suppose it’s nice from a sustainability perspective [to move away from] pushing out new {hardware}.”

Wanberg didn’t disclose what number of have adopted Join to date, solely noting that to date it has had a “nice response” as reMarkable “tries to show to prospects that we will serve them on a working foundation.” Provided that Join solely launched in October of final 12 months, it could also be too early to inform. Its $31 million working revenue in 2021 was greater than triple its revenue in 2020 ($10 million), however reMarkable famous that this was “pushed largely by gross sales of its newest paper pill.”

*Transformed from NOK to USD with fee as of 31.12.21 in accordance with The Central Financial institution of Norway – 8,8194