Allume Systems

What Allume Systems does

Allume Systems operates the Allume (formerly Muse) application, a thinking and brainstorming tool for Apple's ecosystem (Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro). The product's defining capability is nested boards—an architecture allowing boards to contain other boards at unlimited depth for non-linear organization of complex ideas. Its technical foundation is a local-first CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) sync architecture developed over a year-long engagement with the Ink & Switch research lab, enabling full offline functionality and conflict-free multi-device synchronization. The product also supports Apple Pencil-native ink input, PDF annotation with excerpt extraction, a modeless distraction-free interface, and (as of v4.0) MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration connecting boards to AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor.

The business model is freemium self-serve: a free tier limited to 2 workspaces and 100 cards per workspace, an Unlimited direct subscription at $9.99/month or $99.99/year with unlimited workspaces, cards, and collaborators, and a third tier distributed through the Setapp bundle at $14.99/month for up to 5 collaborators. Education discounts are available via direct email contact. Distribution is exclusively through Apple's App Store, the Setapp marketplace, and direct website download—targeting individual knowledge workers and small groups of 2–8 collaborators across use cases including product design, academic research, education, creative direction, and content creation.

The company is privately held, bootstrapped, and operates as Milestone Made, LLC (Texas, USA). Leadership centers on co-founders Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins (formerly of Heroku), who also host the companion Metamuse podcast on tools for thought. No venture capital, private equity, or acquisition activity is disclosed. The company received Apple App Store Editor's Choice and App of the Day (October 2025) recognition and reports 100,000+ devices synced with zero merge conflicts.

Name

Allume Systems

Legal name

Milestone Made, LLC

Website

https://allume.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Allume Systems operates Allume, a thinking and brainstorming app for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro featuring nested boards and local-first CRDT sync. The bootstrapped company sells freemium subscriptions and Setapp distribution to individual knowledge workers and small teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Visual Thinking / Digital Whiteboard Software

akta.pro primary industry

Whiteboarding & Visual Collaboration (BPAMAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Whiteboards, Annotation & Collaborative Canvas Tools (EDAFAGAD)

Keywords

• Visual thinking software
• Digital whiteboard app
• Infinite canvas brainstorming
• Local-first collaboration
• Apple Pencil sketching

Headquarters

HQ city

Watsonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Direct Subscription: Monthly and annual subscriptions sold directly via App Store. Unlimited tier with unlimited workspaces, cards, and collaborators plus priority email support.
2. Setapp Marketplace: Available through Setapp subscription bundle at $14.99/month with Mac, iPad, and iPhone access for up to 5 collaborators.
3. Freemium: Free tier with limited features: 2 workspaces, 100 cards per workspace, 1 collaborator per workspace. Designed to convert heavy users to paid Unlimited tier.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Allume is a native visual-thinking and brainstorming application for Apple devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro) that lets users capture, organize, and connect ideas on nested infinite boards using ink, text, cards, and PDF annotations. It synchronizes work across devices via a local-first CRDT engine, enabling offline-first creative thinking that later merges seamlessly across a user's devices and shared collaborators.

Product overview

Allume (formerly Muse) is a single, unified thinking and brainstorming application available across Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro. The product centers on nested boards—a unique architecture allowing boards to contain other boards at unlimited depth for organizing complex thinking. Allume is offered through three pricing tiers: a Free tier (limited to 2 workspaces, 100 cards), an Unlimited tier ($9.99/month or $99.99/year with full features), and a Setapp tier ($14.99/month for up to 5 collaborators). The company also produces the Metamuse Podcast, a companion show exploring tools for thought and product design topics. The product emphasizes local-first CRDT synchronization, native Apple Pencil support, PDF annotation, and minimal interface design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Metamuse: A podcast about tools for thought, product design and how to have good ideas, hosted by Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins

Products and services

• Allume Allume is a native visual-thinking and brainstorming application for Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro. It lets individual creators, researchers, educators, and small teams capture, organize, and connect ideas on nested infinite boards using ink, text, cards, and PDF annotations, with local-first CRDT-based multi-device sync.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ devices synced with zero merge conflicts
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Ink & SwitchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch lab that originated the Muse concept. Led by Peter van Hardenberg, Ink & Switch conducted foundational research on tablet interfaces and local-first software that directly informed Allume's architecture. The local-first CRDT sync was developed over a year with Ink & Switch research expertise.
• SetappflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSetapp is a curated subscription bundle for Mac, iPad, and iPhone apps. Allume is available through Setapp at $14.99/month with access for Mac, iPad, and iPhone plus 5 collaborators.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• FigJam: Figma's collaborative whiteboard product for design teams. Competes with Allume for the design-thinking and visual collaboration use case primarily within Figma's installed design base.
• Miro: The dominant visual collaboration platform for teams, offering infinite canvases, templates, and integrations. Competes with Allume for the visual thinking and ideation use case at a broader enterprise scale.
• Notion: Broad workspace/productivity platform with embedded whiteboard and database features. Competes with Allume for the 'second brain' and team knowledge management use cases at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Craft: Apple-native document and notes app with visual blocks, whiteboarding, and collaboration. Targets the same design-conscious Apple ecosystem user base as Allume with overlapping productivity use cases.
• Capacities: Object-based knowledge management tool with a 'daily note' workflow and networked thinking approach. Targets the same PKM and thinking-tool audience as Allume with a similar premium-indie positioning.
• Milanote: Visual project planning tool for creative work combining boards, images, and notes. Closely comparable to Allume's target use cases for designers, writers, and creative directors.
• Obsidian: Local-first markdown knowledge base with bidirectional linking and a plugin ecosystem (including visual canvas). Serves the same PKM-focused audience as Allume with overlapping but distinct core functionality.
• Heptabase: Visual note-taking and knowledge management tool combining cards, whiteboards, and bidirectional linking. Targets the same knowledge-worker and research segments as Allume with a similar nested-information philosophy.
• Tana: Outliner and knowledge management tool with supertags and structured thinking primitives. Targets the same deep-thinking, knowledge-worker user base as Allume with a distinct but overlapping value proposition.
• Apple Freeform: Apple's native free whiteboard app pre-installed on iPad, iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro. The most direct substitute for Allume's core use case, though it lacks nested boards and local-first sync.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MuseAppHQ
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@MuseAppHQ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Allume Systems