Mermaid Chart
Mermaid Chart is a San Francisco-based SaaS platform built on the open-source Mermaid.js library that converts natural language or Markdown-style code into collaborative diagrams, serving developers, system architects, data engineers, project managers, and other technical professionals through AI-powered text-to-diagram generation, a visual editor, and VS Code, Confluence, and GitHub Copilot integrations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Mermaid Chart does
Mermaid Chart is a San Francisco-based SaaS company that commercializes the open-source Mermaid.js text-based diagramming library, founded by Knut Sveidqvist (creator of Mermaid.js and current CTO). The platform converts natural language descriptions or Markdown-style Mermaid syntax into live, shareable diagrams supporting 15+ diagram types — including flowcharts, sequence diagrams, ER diagrams, C4 models, Gantt charts, mind maps, timelines, and org charts. Its product portfolio comprises a web-based Core Platform, Mermaid AI (text-to-diagram generation), a Visual Editor for click-based editing, a Code Editor with live preview, a VS Code extension, and plugin integrations with GitHub Copilot and Atlassian Confluence, plus a presentation mode for full-screen sharing. The underlying architecture treats diagrams as code, enabling version control, Markdown-native embedding, and IDE-resident rendering.
The company operates a product-led and community-led go-to-market model. Distribution is anchored by Mermaid.js's 88.9k GitHub stars and a claimed reach of 5M+ users across 200k+ companies. Customer acquisition flows from open-source adoption to a free tier (self-serve signup via Google or GitHub authentication), with conversion to a paid enterprise tier that adds SSO, SOC2 Type 2 compliance, custom encryption, and advanced collaboration features. Customer segments are horizontal, spanning developers, system architects, data engineers, project managers, business analysts, consultants, educators, and other 'visual thinkers.' Revenue mechanics combine freemium self-serve with enterprise sales motion, though specific pricing and ARR are not publicly disclosed.
The company has raised approximately $9.5M across two disclosed rounds: a $2M investment from Open Core Ventures in October 2022 to formalize the commercial entity, followed by a $7.5M seed extension in March 2024 led by a syndicate including Sequoia Capital and M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund). The March 2024 funding coincided with the launch of its first commercial enterprise products (Visual Editor and AI Diagram Generator). Andrew Firestone serves as CEO alongside founder/CTO Knut Sveidqvist, and the company is headquartered in San Francisco with a headcount of 11-50 employees.
Mermaid Chart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mermaid Chart
- Legal name
- Mermaid Chart
- Website
- https://mermaidchart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mermaid Chart is a San Francisco-based SaaS platform built on the open-source Mermaid.js library that converts natural language or Markdown-style code into collaborative diagrams, serving developers, system architects, data engineers, project managers, and other technical professionals through AI-powered text-to-diagram generation, a visual editor, and VS Code, Confluence, and GitHub Copilot integrations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mermaid Chart industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Diagramming Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Whiteboards, Annotation & Collaborative Canvas Tools (EDAFAGAD)
Keywords
Where Mermaid Chart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Mermaid Chart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Enterprise Products Subscription: Mermaid Chart launched its first enterprise products including a Visual Editor and AI-powered diagram generator for businesses, likely offered as subscription tiers with enhanced security and collaboration features.
- Freemium Model: The platform offers a free tier with basic diagramming capabilities, with paid upgrades for enterprise features such as enhanced security (SSO, SOC2 compliance, custom encryption), advanced collaboration tools, and AI-powered features.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Mermaid Chart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mermaid Chart provides a SaaS diagramming platform that converts text, Markdown-style code, or natural language into live, shareable diagrams across 15+ formats including flowcharts, sequence, ER, Gantt, timeline, mind maps, and C4 diagrams. The platform combines AI-powered text-to-diagram generation, a visual click-based editor, and a code editor with real-time collaboration, integrated with VS Code, GitHub Copilot, and Confluence. An enterprise tier adds SSO, SOC2 compliance, and custom encryption for business deployments.
Product overview
Mermaid Chart is a commercial platform built around its core AI-powered text-to-diagram product, offering multiple workflow options: Mermaid AI (for natural language to diagram generation), the Visual Editor (click-based editing with real-time collaboration), and the Code Editor (syntax-based writing with live preview). The ecosystem includes VS Code Extension, Plugins for Confluence and GitHub Copilot, and Presentations mode. The company also maintains Mermaid.js as its open source foundation (88.9k stars), with all commercial offerings supporting the open source project's continued growth. The portfolio spans from individual developers to enterprise teams requiring secure access controls, custom encryption, SOC2 compliance, and SSO integration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mermaid.js: Open source text-based diagramming tool that is the foundation of Mermaid Chart's product offerings.
Products and services
- Mermaid Chart Platform AI-powered text-to-diagram SaaS platform that converts natural language or Mermaid syntax code into clean, shareable diagrams; supports real-time collaboration, secure enterprise access controls, and a free tier alongside paid enterprise offerings.
- Mermaid AI AI-powered diagram generator that converts plain-text descriptions into instant, customizable visuals, eliminating the need to write Mermaid syntax manually.
- Mermaid Visual Editor Click-based visual editor that lets users change colors, edges, and shapes with clicks or code, with real-time co-editing and async sharing across the organization.
- Mermaid Code Editor Code editor for authoring diagrams in Mermaid syntax with live preview, supporting embedding into presentations, docs, and wikis.
- Mermaid Plugins Embeddable plugins for GitHub Copilot and Confluence that enable diagram creation, insertion, and live updates directly within those tools.
- VS Code Extension Official Visual Studio Code extension that renders Mermaid diagrams in a preview panel next to the developer's code, turning infrastructure and systems into diagrams from the codebase.
- Mermaid Presentations Full-screen presentation mode that lets users create, share, and display polished diagrams directly from the Mermaid workspace during client meetings or reviews.
Quantifiable outcome
- Map client's systems 5-10 times faster
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Mermaid Chart
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Mermaid Chart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
Mermaid Chart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Microsoft / GitHubcoreGitHub Copilot integration allows users to create Mermaid diagrams directly within GitHub's AI-powered coding environment. This integration extends Mermaid's reach into developer workflows and provides AI-assisted diagram generation.
- Atlassian (Confluence)coreConfluence plugin allows users to create new diagrams, insert existing diagrams, or update all diagrams in a document to the most recent version directly within Atlassian Confluence — a widely used enterprise documentation platform.
- Microsoft (VS Code)coreOfficial Mermaid VS Code extension allows developers to write Mermaid syntax and watch diagrams render in real time alongside their code, enabling diagram creation directly within the development environment.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Mermaid Chart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lucidchart: Cloud-based collaborative diagramming platform owned by Lucid Software and one of the most direct commercial competitors to Mermaid Chart in flowcharts, ER diagrams, and technical visualizations for enterprise teams.
- Miro: Collaborative whiteboard platform that has aggressively expanded into diagramming, technical workflows, and AI-powered visual generation, directly competing with Mermaid Chart for enterprise team use cases.
- Draw.io (diagrams.net): Free, open-source diagramming tool widely used by developers and enterprises; competes head-on with Mermaid Chart in flowcharts, UML, and architectural diagrams, especially among technical users.
- Whimsical: Collaborative diagramming and wireframing tool explicitly mentioned in Mermaid Chart's comparison pages; offers flowcharts, mind maps, and docs in a unified workspace aimed at product and design teams.
- PlantUML: Text-based open-source diagramming tool that competes philosophically with Mermaid.js, appealing to the same developer audience that wants version-controllable, code-driven UML and sequence diagrams.
Broad incumbents
- Microsoft Visio: Long-standing incumbent in professional diagramming now bundled into Microsoft 365; represents the legacy enterprise standard that Mermaid Chart must displace inside large organizations.
Emerging players
- Eraser: AI-powered technical diagramming tool targeted at engineers and system architects; competes directly with Mermaid Chart's AI text-to-diagram capabilities and developer-focused positioning.
- tldraw: Open-source collaborative whiteboard SDK and product with AI features; targets similar developer and product-team use cases as Mermaid Chart's visual editor.
- Excalidraw: Hand-drawn-style collaborative diagramming tool popular among developers; competes with Mermaid Chart for casual and technical diagramming in open-source and product communities.
Others
- Atlassian (Confluence): While currently a Mermaid integration partner through Confluence, Atlassian also offers diagramming capabilities in Jira/Confluence and represents a potential platform competitor as it expands native visual collaboration features.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mermaid Chart social profiles
Digital presenceMermaid Chart compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Mermaid Chart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mermaid Chart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Mermaid Chart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors13 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mermaid Chart M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mermaid Chart
What does Mermaid Chart do?
Mermaid Chart provides a SaaS diagramming platform that converts text, Markdown-style code, or natural language into live, shareable diagrams across 15+ formats including flowcharts, sequence, ER, Gantt, timeline, mind maps, and C4 diagrams. The platform combines AI-powered text-to-diagram generation, a visual click-based editor, and a code editor with real-time collaboration, integrated with VS Code, GitHub Copilot, and Confluence. An enterprise tier adds SSO, SOC2 compliance, and custom encryption for business deployments.
Is Mermaid Chart a public or private company?
Mermaid Chart is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Mermaid Chart founded?
Mermaid Chart was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mermaid Chart based?
Mermaid Chart is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mermaid Chart make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Enterprise Products Subscription is the primary driver. The others are freemium Model.
Who are Mermaid Chart's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lucidchart, Miro, Draw.io (diagrams.net), Whimsical and PlantUML. Microsoft Visio is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Eraser, tldraw and Excalidraw. Atlassian (Confluence) is listed as an others.
Does Mermaid Chart have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mermaid Chart.
What industry is Mermaid Chart in?
Mermaid Chart's product category is Developer Diagramming Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAGAD, Digital Whiteboards, Annotation & Collaborative Canvas Tools. Its NAICS code is 513210.