The current wave of AI, particularly large language models, is viewed as a fundamental new medium, comparable in significance to the advent of personal computing. The industry is still in the early stages of discovery, exploring applications through the lens of old paradigms (e.g., search, code generation), with truly novel use cases expected to take another five to ten years to fully materialize.
Notion's core strategy for the past five years has been to consolidate disparate knowledge work tools (docs, wikis, project management) into a single, integrated platform. This consolidation of context and tools has inadvertently created the ideal foundation for building powerful AI agents for knowledge work, a task that has proven difficult for others due to fragmented data silos.
Developing AI products is described as an organic, unpredictable process like "brewing beer," where one must create the right environment and channel the model's capabilities rather than engineering a precise outcome. This contrasts with traditional software development, which is more like "building a bridge" from a detailed blueprint. This requires a more experimental and integrated approach, with designers and engineers working closely together.
The role of software is shifting from being a passive tool that humans use to an active agent that performs tasks. As seen with Notion's co-founder managing coding agents, the future of knowledge work involves humans managing and directing teams of AI agents rather than manually executing every step. This fundamentally changes the user's relationship with software and information.
CEO Ivan Zhao's philosophy emphasizes a deep appreciation for craft and simplicity, from his personal style to his critique of product design and office interiors. He believes that overly polished offices can signal a company's decline and rates his own product's craft a 6.5/10, acknowledging the constant battle against software entropy and the difficulty of maintaining high standards at scale.
Keep pulling the thread on Ivan Zhao.