It’s an age-old story in the tech industry: the company develops a tool to solve its own problem and then realizes that the tool is actually worth more than the existing company. Something similar happened to linearity. Its 17-year-old founder Vladimir Danila developed the Vectornator tool in 2017 to simplify vector design. It is now used by Apple, Disney, Wacom, and Microsoft. Disney uses Vectornator to create artwork for hotels in Disneyland.
The vector-oriented platform has now raised a $ 20 million round of funding led by EQT Ventures together with 468 Capital. There were also Angels such as Bradley Horowitz (VP Product, Google), Jonathan Rochelle (co-founder of Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Google Slides, Google Drive), Charles Songhurst (Ex. Corporate Strategy, Microsoft) and Lutz Finger (Group Product.). Manager, Google).
The company says the funding will be used to double its mobile-first product, Vectornator, to add AI-powered automation and collaboration capabilities, as well as new products, and to expand in the US and Europe and Asia.
Vladimir Danila, CEO and Founder of Linearity, said, “When I first got into design over a decade ago, at the age of 10, I found the tools difficult to use and intimidating. I immediately wanted to create my own suite of tools to solve this problem as vectors become more relevant than pixels and are also superior in every way but photography. Vectornator is all about customer experience, simplicity and not overly complicated software. I’m really excited to be working with Ted and the team to gain knowledge and understanding of the market and to help our platform grow. “
Ted Persson, Partner at EQT Ventures, commented: “For me, working with the Linearity team was twofold. Vladimir is a very clear founder who has built an amazing product. Design tools are some of the most difficult tools to create, but Vladimir and his team have shown that anything is possible. “
Investor interest in design tools has exploded since Canva’s success, which is now valued at $ 15 billion.