Our handwriting, though slowly disappearing from existence, is one of the more unique things about us. But anyone who has ever sat down to write more than a dozen “thank you” notes knows how time-consuming it can be to hand-write everything.
That’s where Gracious Eloise comes in.
The company has developed an algorithm that digitizes anyone’s handwriting, letting users quickly type out their message and then translating it over to their own unique handwriting.
What’s more: Gracious Eloise never digitizes one message the same exact way. There are always tiny differences in the lettering or spacing, even if the copy is exactly the same, while still maintaining your particular ‘style’ of handwriting.
The platform also provides tools to tidy up your handwriting a bit or add some embellishments.
Unlike Bond, which uses a robotic arm to create handwritten notes, Gracious Eloise is an entirely digital platform that uses software to digitize your handwriting.
When the company first started, it took around three hours to digitize a person’s handwriting, but the team has tweaked the algorithm over the past few months to get that time down to ten minutes.
Rather than offer a consumer-facing product, Gracious Eloise is targeting developers with an API, as the company believes that this type of technology can scale in multiple verticals at once.
The early focus for Gracious Eloise is gift registries, greeting cards, ecommerce, CRM, direct mail, and digital (as in, hooking up your chat applications or email to the API to let you send digital messages in your own handwriting).
Founder and CEO Eloise Bune says that there are over 250 million thank you notes sent each year for weddings alone, and 80 million sent for baby showers or baby-related gifts.
Gracious Eloise has received $3 million in Series A funding from investors like BBG Ventures, Broadway Angels, Female Founders Fund, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Montage Ventures and Valley Girls Ventures, along with existing investors.
If you’re a developer who wants to learn more about Gracious Eloise’s handwriting API, simply visit Handwriting.io to get started.