How Notion CEO Ivan Zhao grew to $580M ARR with a 600 person team in 2026
Notion is a productivity and knowledge-management platform used by 100M+ people and over half of Fortune 500 companies. Headquartered in San Francisco, Notion has raised $343.2M across four funding rounds and is valued at $10B.
Notion revenue grew from $10M ARR in 2020 to $580M ARR in 2026
Notion's annual recurring revenue (ARR) has grown 58× over six years, driven by its self-serve PLG motion, viral team adoption, and the 2024 launch of Notion AI which now accounts for an estimated 18% of new revenue. The company crossed $100M ARR in 2022, $250M in 2023, and $400M in 2024.
Revenue (ARR) by year
▲ +5,700% since 2020Notion has raised $343.2M across 4 rounds
Backed by Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Coatue, and Tiger Global. Notion's most recent round (Series C, October 2021) valued the company at $10B and was co-led by Coatue and Sequoia.
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Lead Investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | Series C | $275M | $10.0B | Coatue, Sequoia Capital |
| Apr 2020 | Series B | $50M | $2.0B | Index Ventures |
| Aug 2019 | Series A | $10M | $800M | Daniel Gross |
| Sep 2018 | Seed | $8.2M | $135M | Felicis Ventures |
Ivan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Notion
Ivan Zhao co-founded Notion in 2013 with Simon Last after meeting at the University of British Columbia. After running out of money and laying off all employees in 2015, the team relocated to Kyoto, Japan to rewrite Notion from scratch. The relaunched product reached profitability in 2018 and went on to define the modern productivity-software category.
Zhao's background in design and his "tools-for-thought" philosophy — inspired by Doug Engelbart's 1968 "Mother of All Demos" — shapes Notion's product direction. He remains CEO, with Akshay Kothari as President and COO.
Notion grew from 100 to 600 employees in 4 years
Notion's headcount has 6×'d since 2022, with the largest expansion in 2024 (+150) following the Notion AI launch. Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success now represent roughly 70% of headcount.
Employee count by year
▲ +500 since 2022Tools and technologies Notion uses
Based on public job postings, engineering blog posts, and observed integrations, Notion's stack spans these categories:
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Key decision-makers at Notion
Verified contact data for 47 senior decision-makers across Sales, Marketing, Engineering, and Operations.
Download the full database of 175M B2B contacts
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download Download 175M contacts| Name | Title | Country |
|---|
| Sarah Chen | VP Sales | s.chen@stripe.com | 🇺🇸 US |
| Michael Davidson | Head of Growth | m.d@notion.so | 🇺🇸 US |
| Priya Patel | CMO | priya@figma.com | 🇺🇸 US |
| Lars Eriksen | VP Marketing | lars@spotify.com | 🇸🇪 SE |
| Akira Tanaka | CRO | akira@mercari.com | 🇯🇵 JP |
| Emma Wilson | Head of Sales | emma@monzo.com | 🇬🇧 GB |
| Carlos Vargas | VP Revenue | c.vargas@rappi.com | 🇲🇽 MX |
| Sophie Müller | Director Sales | sophie@n26.com | 🇩🇪 DE |
| James O'Brien | Chief of Staff | james@intercom.com | 🇮🇪 IE |
| Aisha Khan | VP Sales | aisha@razorpay.com | 🇮🇳 IN |
| Sarah Chen | VP Sales | s.chen@stripe.com | 🇺🇸 US |
| Michael Davidson | Head of Growth | m.d@notion.so | 🇺🇸 US |
| Priya Patel | CMO | priya@figma.com | 🇺🇸 US |
| Lars Eriksen | VP Marketing | lars@spotify.com | 🇸🇪 SE |
| Akira Tanaka | CRO | akira@mercari.com | 🇯🇵 JP |
| Emma Wilson | Head of Sales | emma@monzo.com | 🇬🇧 GB |
| Carlos Vargas | VP Revenue | c.vargas@rappi.com | 🇲🇽 MX |
| Sophie Müller | Director Sales | sophie@n26.com | 🇩🇪 DE |
| James O'Brien | Chief of Staff | james@intercom.com | 🇮🇪 IE |
| Aisha Khan | VP Sales | aisha@razorpay.com | 🇮🇳 IN |
Frequently asked questions about Notion
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