What Annotate.net does

Annotate.net, operated by the privately held Delaware corporation Simpliphi, Inc. and headquartered in New York, is a digital instruction platform built for K-12 educators. The platform enables teachers to create interactive assignments by annotating over Google Slides, Adobe PDFs, web pages, and Canva content, embedding one of ten interactive question types, and distributing work through Google Classroom. Students respond by writing directly on the content, and teachers can review progress in real time and deliver personalized feedback via recorded audio notes or webcam video. The product surface includes the core Annotate platform, the Annotate Mirror Client (a desktop application for streaming annotated content to whiteboards and interactive TVs via AirPlay and Google Cast), a Chrome Web Extension for browser-based annotation, and an In-document Assessment Tool that converts static worksheets into auto-graded digital assignments. Sign-up is free with Google, Office 365, or ClassLink credentials, and the company markets a dedicated pricing page implying tiered subscription on top of the freemium base.

Underlying technology is a web-based annotation layer extended through browser extensions (Chrome today, Safari for iPadOS announced October 2025 and currently waitlisted). Cross-platform annotation consistency is a stated technical priority, allowing the same UI across web pages, PDFs, Google Slides, and Canva. The business model is product-led growth with a freemium entry point aimed at individual K-12 teachers; the company reports hundreds of thousands of users, distributes through the Chrome Web Store and direct web signup, and leans on organic social (Facebook, X) plus a public notebook library for top-of-funnel discovery. There is no disclosed revenue, no recent institutional funding, and no named enterprise or district customers, consistent with a small (11-50 employees), likely bootstrapped operating posture; the only disclosed capital event is a $3,000,000 round in June 2000 led by Merrill Lynch and Millennium Technology Value Partners, predating the current legal entity (founded 2013).

Name

Annotate.net

Legal name

Simpliphi, Inc.

Website

https://annotate.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Annotate.net is a digital instruction platform for K-12 educators that enables interactive annotation over Google Slides, PDFs, and web pages, with embedded question types, real-time feedback via audio and video, and Google Classroom integration, delivered through a freemium, product-led model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Digital Instruction Software

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Whiteboards, Annotation & Collaborative Canvas Tools (EDAFAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assessment, Testing & Analytics Platforms (Formative/Summative) (EDAJAMAC), Interactive Whiteboards, Digital Annotation & Screen Sharing Tools (EDAFABAE)

Keywords

• Digital annotation software
• Classroom engagement tools
• Interactive lesson creation
• K-12 edtech platform
• Google Classroom integration

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription/Freemium Model: Platform offers free signup with premium features likely available through paid tiers. The presence of a dedicated pricing page suggests tiered subscription model with free entry point for teachers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Annotate.net (operated by Simpliphi, Inc.) sells a freemium digital instruction platform that lets K-12 teachers annotate Google Slides, PDFs, web pages, Canva content, and Annotate notebooks, embed 10 interactive question types for auto-graded assessments, stream live lessons to whiteboards and student devices, and provide real-time audio and video feedback. The offering is delivered through the web app, the Web Annotations Chrome extension, the Annotate Mirror Client, and a forthcoming Safari extension for iPadOS.

Product overview

Annotate.net is a digital instruction platform designed for K-12 education. The core Annotate product provides annotation tools across multiple content types (Google Slides, PDFs, web pages, Canva, and Annotate Notebooks) with interactive question types and real-time feedback capabilities. The platform includes the Annotate Mirror Client for streaming to whiteboards/interactive TVs, the Web Annotations Chrome Extension for browser-based annotations, and an In-document Assessment Tool for creating auto-graded digital assignments. A Safari extension for iPadOS is also in development. The product integrates natively with Google Classroom, YouTube, Adobe PDFs, and supports sign-on via Office 365 and ClassLink.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annotate Web-based digital instruction platform that enables K-12 teachers to create interactive annotated assignments from Google Slides, PDFs, web pages, Canva designs, and Annotate notebooks, embed 10 interactive question types for auto-graded assessments, review student work in real time, and deliver personalized audio and video feedback.
• Annotate Mirror Client Desktop application that streams a teacher's annotated screen to a classroom whiteboard or interactive TV, with Airplay and Google Cast support, remote annotation control, and automatic saving of annotations back to the user's Annotate account.
• Web Annotations Chrome Extension Chrome browser extension that lets teachers add sticky annotations and interactive elements to web content, enabling the same Annotate experience on any web page within the browser.
• Annotate Notebooks Digital notebook environment where students take notes by writing directly on Annotate content and teachers review progress in real time and provide feedback.
• Annotate for Safari (iPadOS) Safari browser extension for iPadOS that ports Annotate's web annotation and interactive questioning capabilities to Apple iPads, currently available via a Notify Me waitlist.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Google (Google Slides, Google Classroom)coreTechnology or IntegrationDeep product integration with Google's educational ecosystem. Annotate allows teachers to create assignments using Google Slides and distribute through Google Classroom. Students can annotate directly over Google Slides content. The partnership enables seamless workflow for Google Workspace educational users.
• Adobe (Adobe PDFs)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Adobe PDFs for annotation capabilities, allowing teachers to create assignments from PDF documents that students can annotate directly.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nearpod: K-12 interactive lesson delivery platform with real-time student engagement, polls, and annotations. Comparable in target customer (K-12 teachers), freemium-to-school GTM, and interactive lesson workflow.
• BookWidgets: Interactive worksheet and quiz creation tool for teachers, with auto-grading. Overlaps with Annotate's in-document assessment and interactive-question-type capabilities.
• Formative: K-12 formative assessment platform with auto-grading and teacher feedback, overlapping Annotate's in-document assessment tool. Comparable customer base and similar workflow positioning for teachers.
• Buncee: Digital creation and presentation tool for educators, supporting interactive lessons, media embedding, and student engagement. Comparable in K-12 audience and creative interactive-content use cases.
• Kami: Annotation and interactive document tool for K-12 educators, with native Google Classroom integration. Directly comparable in core feature set (PDF/web/Slides annotation, assignment workflows) and target market. Acquired by Instructure in 2022.
• Explain Everything: Interactive whiteboard and annotation platform used in K-12 classrooms, with screen casting and recording features. Comparable in annotation, mirroring, and classroom-engagement functionality.
• Pear Deck: Interactive presentation and formative-assessment tool for K-12 teachers, with Google Slides integration. Closely comparable in audience (K-12), workflow (in-lesson engagement, teacher-led), and freemium GTM. Now part of GoGuardian.

Emerging players

• Screencastify: K-12 video creation and screen recording tool with Google Classroom integration. Partial overlap with Annotate's flipped-classroom video use case and media-recording capability, and shares the Google ecosystem dependency.

Broad incumbents

• SMART Learning Suite: Incumbent interactive whiteboard and classroom software suite from SMART Technologies. Overlaps on classroom annotation, lesson delivery, and device integration, but at much broader scale and as part of a hardware-anchored portfolio.
• Promethean: Established interactive display and classroom software provider with lesson delivery and annotation features. Comparable in K-12 classroom engagement, but competes as a hardware-and-software incumbent rather than a SaaS-only tool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/annotate_net
• Facebookfacebook.com/annotate.net

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Annotate.net