# Nathan Xu

> Nathan Xu (also known as Xu Gao) is the co-founder and CEO of Plaud AI, the company behind the world's best-selling AI voice recorder and notetaker. A serial entrepreneur who failed three times before hitting gold, Xu bootstrapped Plaud from a Kickstarter campaign in 2023 to $180M+ ARR by 2025 - without a single dollar of venture capital. His credit-card-sized Plaud Note and wearable NotePin devices, which transcribe, summarize, and analyze conversations in 112 languages, have shipped to over 1.5 million users in 170+ countries. Based in San Francisco with roots in Wuhan, China, Xu represents a new breed of transpacific founder betting that the next great hardware platform fits in your pocket - or around your neck.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Plaud
- **Organizations:** Plaud, iZYRec, China Growth Capital
- **From:** Wuhan, China
- **Nationality:** Chinese
- **Education:** Bachelor of Finance, Wuhan University, Exchange Student, International Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Customer-Focused Innovation Program, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Bootstrapped Plaud to $180M ARR without venture capital funding, Sold over 1 million Plaud Note devices globally, Expanded to 170+ countries with 1.5M+ professional users

## Career timeline

- **2013** — Graduated from Wuhan University with Finance degree; founded first startup - a website helping Chinese students apply to overseas universities
- **2014-2018** — Worked at China Growth Capital as a venture capital investor; invested in early-stage startups including Akulaku (later valued at $2B)
- **2018-2020** — Founded and shut down second and third startups; two consecutive failures in tech
- **2021** — Co-founded iZYRec with Charles Liu, producing a miniature $50 voice recorder; early market validation
- **2021** — Co-founded Plaud (December 2021) with Charles Liu, pivoting toward AI-powered voice capture
- **2022** — Relocated to Shenzhen to leverage hardware supply chain; began development of Plaud Note following ChatGPT launch
- **2023** — Launched Plaud Note on Kickstarter (June 2023); raised $200K in 36 hours and over $1M total; product became Amazon category leader
- **2024** — Launched Plaud NotePin wearable (August 2024); reached $100M annual revenue; enrolled in Stanford Customer-Focused Innovation program; expanded to San Francisco HQ
- **2025** — Acquired YC-backed StarJar (April); launched Plaud Note Pro (August); unveiled Plaud Intelligence 3.0 (October); featured on NYSE Spotlight (December); reached $180M ARR
- **2026** — Launched Plaud NotePin S and Plaud Desktop at CES; team grew to 230+ employees; offices in SF, Seattle, Tokyo, Shenzhen

## Achievements

- Bootstrapped Plaud to $180M ARR without venture capital funding
- Sold over 1 million Plaud Note devices globally
- Expanded to 170+ countries with 1.5M+ professional users
- Achieved profitability within less than 2 years of founding
- Raised over $1M on Kickstarter with $200K in first 36 hours
- Acquired YC-backed StarJar to enter enterprise market
- Grew team from 0 to 230+ employees across SF, Seattle, Tokyo, and Shenzhen
- Featured on NYSE International Day spotlight
- Launched Plaud Note Pro - world's first AI notetaker with real-time human-AI alignment
- 10x year-over-year revenue growth for two consecutive years
- Plaud Note ranked #1 in its Amazon category

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Launched Plaud NotePin S (with physical buttons) and Plaud Desktop at CES 2026; team at 230+ employees
- **2025-12** — Featured in NYSE International Day Spotlight interview highlighting Plaud's wearable AI notetaker
- **2025-10** — Unveiled Plaud Intelligence 3.0 - next-generation conversation intelligence platform
- **2025-08** — Launched Plaud Note Pro, the world's first AI notetaker with real-time human-AI alignment feature
- **2025-04** — Acquired YC-backed StarJar medical AI company to power enterprise expansion

## Links

- Website: https://plaud.ai
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-xu-80b48755
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PLAUDAI
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plaudai

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/nathan-xu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-07