This article was published on April 3, 2013

Haiku Deck raises $3m to launch its iPad app for creating beautiful presentations on other platforms


Haiku Deck raises $3m to launch its iPad app for creating beautiful presentations on other platforms

Haiku Deck, an iPad app that makes it easy to create stunning presentations and slide decks, announced today that it has raised a $3 million Series A funding round.

The investment was led by Trilogy Partnership with participation from Madrona Venture Group, Founder’s Co-op, tech-entrepreneur Sarah Leary and a number of undisclosed angel investors.

Haiku Deck says it will use the additional funding to expand onto other platforms, hinting at future support for Windows 8/RT and Android tablets, grow its team and develop what it’s described as a “premium offering.”

The iPad app has come a long way since it launched last August, picking up half a million customers in its first three months and rolling out version 2.0 with some new business-focused features and functionality in March.

This included the ability to easily add pie and bar charts – an age-old necessity for office meetings and presentations – as well as insert bulleted and numbered lists and make additional edits to imported images.

“As mobile devices continue to change the way people work, we see a huge opportunity in helping everyone create the kind of presentation that used to require a design professional,” Adam Tratt, co-founder and CEO of Haiku Deck said.

Haiku Deck solves a growing problem with presentation files. The majority of professionals use either PowerPoint or Keynote, which means that the most popular pre-set layouts feel tired, out-dated or just overused. Finding a way to create a unique, but highly polished set of slides has been sought after for many years.

The iPad has also revolutionized the delivery of such presentations. The user can easily swipe left-and-right to switch slides, but also just share Apple’s tablet around the room in order to create a more dynamic and intimate experience.

Haiku Deck says that the way it offers creative commons-licensed images has been critical to its success. In the app’s image search section, Haiku Deck taps the millions of ready-to-use images available on Flickr, with filtering either by title or image tags.

The app will also embed the image credit automatically, giving users a quick and easy way to find high-quality content. A handful of themes come for free, but Haiku Deck hopes to monetize the service by offering additional layouts for $2 a piece.

Along with the ability to share presentation decks either via email, Twitter or Facebook – and also view them on any browser via the company’s website – Haiku Deck has a promising future ahead.

➤  Haiku Deck | iOS

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