Turbo AI, an innovative AI-powered note-taking and study tool, has achieved remarkable growth, reaching 5 million users within just six months. The platform debuted in January 2024 and was immediately snatching up market share from established platforms like Canvas and Schoology. It now features an incredible 20,000 new users signing up each day. This booming growth is a testament to the soaring demand for innovative study tools that are needed even more in this fast changing education environment.
Started by 20-year-old college dropouts Rudy Arora and Sarthak Dhawan, Turbo AI—then known as Turbolearn—underwent a complete rebranding. These two friends have been joined at the hip since middle school. They designed the app to solve their own challenges using traditional note taking approaches. Dhawan recalls his struggles: “I would always struggle with taking notes because I just couldn’t both listen to the teacher and write at the same time. I just couldn’t do it.”
Turbo AI occupies a middle ground between completely manual solutions like Google Docs and completely automated notetakers even like Otter or Fireflies. This extremely rare positioning gives it the ability to serve a wide range of users. Originally, Turbo AI was aimed directly at students with a monthly subscription model that runs about $20 a month. Today, it’s testing other pricing models to capture a larger audience as the company grows beyond its core 20-somethings.
In just a few months of existence, Turbo AI has already achieved an eight-figure annual recurring revenue run rate. The founders credit a lot of this success to their focus on user experience and attentiveness to customer feedback. Students will submit a 30-page lecture and go through 75 quiz questions consecutively for two hours. You don’t do that unless it’s super performing,” Dhawan said, underlining the tremendous effectiveness of the tool.
Before the company had really taken off, they raised $750,000 in funding. Arora expressed confidence in their business model, stating, “We raised that before we had a lot of traction. Since then, we’ve had a lot of inbound interest, but we’re taking our time because we’re cash-flow positive and have been profitable our entire time as a company.” This financial security gives them the flexibility to concentrate on expansion without the short term influx requirement that leads to a deluge of fundraises.
Turbo AI’s success comes from the sheer commitment of its team. That creative noise is an exceptionally diverse 15-member cohort, all based in Los Angeles. The founders are currently experimenting with various pricing strategies through A/B testing to see what resonates best with their user base. “We’re experimenting with other pricing and running a lot of A/B tests to see what works,” Arora explained.
Turbo AI is impressively still under development. It is deeply committed to continuous product innovation by responding to user needs and demands and keeping a keen ear to market shifts. The founders’ vision is clear: they aim to be the go-to solution for students seeking effective study aids in an increasingly competitive landscape. “What’s cool now is that when students think of an AI notetaker or AI study tool, we’re the first ones that come to mind,” Dhawan said.