Goodnotes Invests $1.9 Million in South Korea’s WeBudding: A Look at the Collaboration and Expansion Plans

Goodnotes Invests $1.9 Million in South Korea’s WeBudding

Goodnotes, the notetaking company, has announced a $1.9 million investment into South Korea-based digital stationary company WeBudding.

WeBudding’s Journey

In 2018, Donghwan Shin, Donggyun Ko, and Chaeyoung Lee founded WeBudding as a physical paper notebook seller for university students. However, they later transitioned into selling digital stationary items like planners, journals, stickers, and notebooks. According to GamingIdeology, 80% of WeBudding’s sales are made through mobile, while the remaining 20% come from its websites.

A Series A Round Worth $2.1 Million

In addition to Goodnotes’ investment, WeBudding also secured a $200,000 investment from Strong Ventures. This brought the total funding raised by the digital stationary startup to $4.7 million. Although the exact valuation was not disclosed, the latest round caused a 52% increase in valuation.

Collaboration with Goodnotes

WeBudding already offers many assets that are compatible with Goodnotes. With the recent launch of the Goodnotes store and this strategic investment, WeBudding aims to create globally relevant content for the notetaking app’s store. The CEO of WeBudding, Shin, mentioned plans to improve the mobile app and localize the content for different countries. They also intend to expand their offerings to include themes for KakaoTalk (a South Korean chat app) as well as work with well-known individuals and musicians to create branded digital stationary.

WeBudding’s Platform

WeBudding currently has 2,500 creators onboard, offering over 16,000 items in its store. The company did not disclose the compensation structure for these creators or the percentage cut they take from digital stationary sales.

Goodnotes’ Recent Updates

In August, Goodnotes released its first app update in four years, incorporating features like AI-powered handwriting and a digital marketplace. This recognition led to Goodnotes receiving the iPad App of the Year award from Apple in 2022. The company boasts an impressive 21 million monthly active users.