Char was founded by John Jeong, Deokhaeng Lee, Yujong Lee in 2023.

Who are Char's investors?

Char's investors include Y Combinator.

How much funding has Char raised?

Char has disclosed $675K raised across 1 round.

Where is Char headquartered?

Char is headquartered in San Francisco, US.

Char

YC S25

San Francisco, US · Founded 2023 · Indiana LLC · 2 employees · 1 known investors

Char is a note-taking and task management app that uses AI to synthesize information from notes, meetings, tools, and tasks into a daily briefing, and automates task routing and follow-ups for individual knowledge workers.

Also known as Hyprnote

AI & Machine Learning Enterprise Software Future of Work SaaS Artificial Intelligence Productivity Open Source AI AssistantSouth KoreaEast AsiaPartly Remote

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S25)

Char was founded in 2023 by John Jeong, Deokhaeng Lee, and Yujong Lee.

John Jeong in 𝕏Co-Founder, Co-CEOJohn Jeong is co-founder and co-CEO of Char.

Deokhaeng Lee in 𝕏Co-Founder2025–2025Deokhaeng Lee studied computer science at Duke University and previously worked as an engineer at Carousel Technologies. He also founded Hyprnote.

Yujong Lee in 𝕏Co-FounderFounder of Char, a note-taking and task management app that uses AI to synthesize information and automate task routing. Open source contributor.

Board

Jeff BlairChairman of the Board of Managers

Investors · 1

Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K

Reported raises · per SEC filings

Form D private placements

$675K disclosed across 1 round · 2024

▶$675KraisedOct 2024 · 14 investors · Restaurants

Rule 506(b)

Officers, directors & promoters on the filing

Jeff BlairExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter
Larry GriggersPromoter

Offering amount: $850K
Amount sold: $675K
Minimum investment: $25K
First sale: Apr 2024
Incorporated: Limited Liability Company, Indiana, 2024
Federal exemptions: 06b

Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Images

Competitors · 10

by search overlap

AI tools91 shared keywordsNotta provides AI-powered transcription tools available as a web app, mobile app, and Chrome extension, along with features such as AI summaries, meeting minutes, screen recording, and a sales-focused AI agent for recording and analyzing meetings and syncing with CRM. It serves individuals and businesses looking to transcribe and organize voice and meeting content.

otter ai77 shared keywordsOtter.ai is an AI-powered meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes conversations in real time across multiple languages, automatically capturing decisions and action items. The platform serves teams and enterprises seeking to automate meeting documentation and knowledge management through integrations with productivity and CRM tools.

Zapier69 shared keywordsZapier provides a platform for connecting AI models and agents to workflows and business applications, enabling teams to automate tasks across over 9,000 apps without coding. The platform serves enterprises, operations teams, and businesses of all sizes looking to deploy AI-driven automation for lead capture, customer support, employee onboarding, and other business processes.

Krisp67 shared keywordsKrisp builds real-time voice AI products that enhance communication through noise cancellation, accent conversion, voice translation, transcription, and summarization across audio hardware and applications. The company serves organizations and individuals using voice communication tools.

tl;dv66 shared keywordstl;dv is an AI meeting recorder that transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes sales and customer calls, turning conversations into insights, CRM updates, alerts, and shareable clips. It serves marketing, sales, customer success, and product teams looking to mine call data for messaging, coaching, and product decisions.

Evernote65 shared keywordsEvernote is a note-taking and productivity platform that helps individuals and teams capture, organize, and access information across devices. The service includes AI-powered features for transcription and search, task management, and collaborative editing for personal and professional use.

Read57 shared keywordsRead AI builds automated meeting summaries, transcripts, and action items using AI to help knowledge workers reduce time spent on meetings, emails, and messages. The platform integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Teams, and Slack for enterprises and individual users.

Fellow50 shared keywordsFellow is an AI notetaker for investment banking that captures and transcribes meetings across video platforms and in-person settings while maintaining information barriers and compliance controls required by financial institutions.

ClickUp49 shared keywordsClickUp provides a customizable work management platform that adapts to different company teams and projects across various functions including marketing, sales, and project management.

Notion49 shared keywordsNotion offers a workspace platform for teams to manage projects, documentation, and tasks through customizable views like Gantt charts and Kanban boards. The product serves small to large organizations across multiple functions including engineering, product, and design teams.

Companies competing with Char for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

In the news

Hyprnote⚡️ Open-source AI notetaker for enterprisesycombinator.com · Aug 2025

Frequently asked questions

What does Char do?: Char is a note-taking and task management app that uses AI to synthesize information from notes, meetings, tools, and tasks into a daily briefing, and automates task routing and follow-ups for individual knowledge workers.
Who founded Char?: Char was founded by John Jeong, Deokhaeng Lee, Yujong Lee in 2023.
Who are Char's investors?: Char's investors include Y Combinator.
How much funding has Char raised?: Char has disclosed $675K raised across 1 round.
Where is Char headquartered?: Char is headquartered in San Francisco, US.