A $200 Million Seed Valuation for Roam Shows Investor Frenzy for Note-Taking Apps

Roam Research co-founder Joshua Brown (l), co-founder and CEO Conor White-Sullivan, and Victoria Ledford, head of operations. Photo credit: Roam Research

Kate Clark

The shift to remote work has buoyed the valuations of several startups making productivity tools. The latest is Roam Research, which has raised $9 million at a valuation of $200 million, or about 25 times higher than the median valuation for seed rounds.

Roam is tapping more than a dozen individuals and firms for the round, including Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, True Ventures and Lux Capital. The Oakland, California, startup, which currently sells access to a web-based note-taking tool, will use the cash to finish its mobile app and hire people.

The rapid pivot to remote work has magnified already strong investor interest in apps to help people stay on task and collaborate. Roam rivals like Notion and Coda have recently raised hundreds of millions in VC funding, also at high valuations. Workplace software firm Asana, recently valued on the secondary markets at $5 billion, plans to go public through a direct listing in the coming weeks.