Granola

Granola envisions a future where human interaction in meetings is captured with utmost respect for privacy and usability, transforming how individuals and teams retain and leverage conversational knowledge. By harnessing AI that operates directly on personal devices, Granola preserves the sanctity of human discussions while enhancing clarity and recall.

Driven by a mission to elevate human productivity, Granola is redefining meeting note-taking beyond passive transcripts into dynamic resources that empower users to engage actively with their content. Through trusted technology and seamless workflows, it fosters smarter decision-making and collaboration.

At its core, Granola is building an intelligent meeting companion that not only records moments but also anticipates users' needs—automating follow-ups and creating an enduring, searchable memory of work conversations that fuels organizational growth and innovation.

We've been watching Granola since its stealth launch, and honestly, it's one of those rare AI tools that actually gets meetings right. While everyone else is building annoying bots that join your calls, Granola took a completely different approach—and we're here for it.

The Smart Privacy Play

Here's what caught our attention first: Granola doesn't need to join your meetings as a bot. Instead, it runs quietly on your computer, capturing audio directly from your device while you take your own notes. The AI then works its magic in the background, filling in gaps and creating proper transcripts.

This isn't just a nice-to-have feature—it's brilliant. No more awkward "Recording started" announcements or wondering if your guest speaker will clam up because there's a bot listening in.

Beyond Basic Transcription

What separates Granola from the pack is how it enhances your existing notes rather than replacing them. You jot down the important bits during the meeting, and Granola intelligently weaves in context, quotes, and details you might have missed. It's like having a really good assistant who knows exactly what you care about.

The templates are surprisingly thoughtful too. Whether you're running a sales call or a 1:1 with your team, Granola adapts to capture the right information in the right format.

Where It Really Shines

The sharing capabilities are where Granola becomes genuinely useful for teams. You can send meeting notes via direct links or push them straight to Slack—no forcing colleagues to sign up for yet another tool. We've seen too many great note-taking apps die because of friction like this.

The AI chat feature attached to each note is clever too. Instead of scrolling through transcripts, you can just ask "What did Sarah say about the budget?" and get a straight answer. It's the kind of feature that sounds gimmicky but proves invaluable in practice.

Room to Grow

At $20 million in Series A funding and a $250 million valuation, expectations are high. The good news? Granola's roadmap toward becoming a full AI workspace makes sense. The Zapier integration already lets you automate follow-ups and create tickets—turning meetings into actionable workflows.

We think founder Chris Pedregal (who sold Socratic to Google) understands something important: the best AI tools don't replace human judgment—they amplify it. For meeting-heavy teams who value both privacy and productivity, Granola feels like the future of how we'll capture and share knowledge from conversations.