In today’s world of information overload and shrinking attention spans, effectively communicating ideas has never been more critical. But how do you stand out in a sea of documents and presentation decks? Enter Napkin, a novel platform designed to address this challenge. Built by engineers Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, Napkin uses “visible AI” to streamline the process of creating compelling, visually rich content. After launching from stealth mode, Napkin has secured $10 million in funding from Accel and CRV.
The Birth of Napkin
The idea for Napkin stemmed from Sharma and Scholler’s frustration with the overwhelming number of documents and presentation decks in corporate settings. Before starting Napkin, Sharma was an ex-Googler and founder of the educational gaming company Osmo, while Scholler, who also worked at Osmo, had stints at Ubisoft, LucasArts, and Google.
“Napkin’s core product is focused on entrepreneurs, content creators, engineers, and professionals who need to market ideas and produce content,” Sharma explained. “The goal is to reduce the time and hassle of the design process by turning it into a largely generative task.”
This generative approach leverages AI to automate the creation of visuals, allowing users to easily transform textual content into engaging designs.
How Napkin Works
Napkin offers a web-based platform where users can begin with simple text — a presentation, an outline, or a document — or have the app generate content based on a prompt (e.g., “An overview of best practices for hiring interviews”). Once the content is input, Napkin creates a Notion-like canvas, and users can click a “spark icon” next to paragraphs to generate customizable visuals. These visuals range from flowcharts, graphs, and infographics to Venn diagrams and decision trees.
Each image can be customized with different icons, colors, and fonts, while connectors allow users to visually link ideas. The visuals can then be exported as PNG, PDF, SVG, or shared via a URL that links to the canvas itself.
Strengths and Limitations
I tested Napkin myself and found that the platform excels at creating visuals for straightforward, broad ideas and timelines. For example, it generated helpful graphics for clear descriptions and step-by-step processes.
However, Napkin struggles with more nebulous or complex ideas. In one instance, the platform created visuals that were disconnected from the original text, producing results that seemed nonsensical. Additionally, while Napkin suggests visuals, sometimes it defaults to generic, stock-like imagery that may not fully resonate with the content.
The platform also includes an AI-generated disclaimer for sensitive content, like offensive language, which users can report. Napkin emphasizes that it does not use public or IP-protected data for generating images, which alleviates concerns about copyright violations.
Visual Design Quality
One area of critique for Napkin’s visuals is their somewhat generic, homogenous design style. Some early users of generative AI tools for PowerPoint have compared the results to “high school-level” designs, and Napkin’s graphics did carry similar vibes. However, this is likely to evolve as the product matures and is refined.
Future Plans and Challenges
Despite these early limitations, Napkin is still in its early stages. The company plans to introduce paid plans, though it is not rushing the launch. With a small team of just 10 people, Napkin plans to expand to 15 by the end of the year. Sharma and Scholler’s proven entrepreneurial track record, including their exit from Osmo to Byju’s for $120 million in 2019, gives investors confidence in Napkin’s potential.
Rich Wong of Accel is particularly excited about Napkin’s vision, commenting, “Pramod and Jerome have an uncanny ability to take complex technical challenges and simplify them for users. We’re excited to support this next chapter as Napkin brings visible AI to business storytelling.”
Investment and Growth
The $10 million funding will be directed toward further product development, particularly in enhancing AI and graphic design capabilities. Sharma noted, “All our energy and resources will go into making Napkin the best platform for generating relevant and compelling visuals from text.”
Conclusion
Napkin has the potential to reshape how businesses create presentations and communicate ideas. By simplifying the process of generating high-quality, customized visuals, Napkin aims to save professionals time and energy, transforming the way content is crafted in a world overloaded with information. While still in development, its innovative use of generative AI sets the stage for exciting advancements in visual communication tools.
