In recent times, various tools like Figma, TLDraw, Apple’s Freeform, and Arc browser’s Easel functionality have advocated for the concept of an “infinite canvas” to capture and share ideas. French startup Kosmik has embraced this idea, offering a knowledge-capturing tool that eliminates the need for users to switch between different windows or apps to gather information.
Founded in 2018 by Paul Rony and Christophe Van Deputte, Kosmik originated from Rony’s desire for a unified whiteboard-type canvas instead of traditional file and folder structures. Drawing on his background in computing history and philosophy, Rony spent almost three years developing Kosmic, incorporating essential features such as data encryption, offline-first mode, and a spatial canvas-based UI, all built on IPFS for peer-to-peer collaboration.
Kosmik provides an infinite canvas interface enabling the insertion of text, images, videos, PDFs, and links, with a side panel for previewing content. It includes a built-in browser, eliminating the need to switch windows, and features a PDF reader for extracting elements like images and text. Designed for designers, architects, consultants, and students, Kosmik helps users create information boards for various projects, offering a visual and unified solution without the need for multiple tabs or document-based workflows.
Rony emphasized that Kosmik’s unique value lies in combining diverse tools in one place, enhancing collaboration and productivity. Available on the web, Mac, and Windows, Kosmik offers a free tier with limitations, and a $5.99 monthly subscription for additional storage and unlimited elements. The company plans to introduce a “pay-once” model for single-device usage.
Kosmik recently secured $3.7 million in a seed funding round led by Creandum, with participation from Alven, Kima Ventures, Betaworks, and founders from Replit and Quizlet. The startup aims to revolutionize organizational workflows, drawing comparisons to Notion and Miro. Hanel Baveja of Creandum highlighted the importance of immediate value for users and commended Kosmik’s focus on a rich feature set with ease of adoption.
As Kosmik prepares for version 2.0, merging codebases and introducing web-based functionality with wrapper desktop apps, new features such as multiplayer collaboration and AI-powered auto-tagging are on the horizon. Despite competition from other startups in the personal whiteboard space, Kosmik currently boasts around 8,000 daily users and aims to redefine knowledge capturing paradigms.
