Tome Shut Down, ClickUp™ Didn't

Tome Alternative

Tome shut down its AI presentation product on April 30, 2025. The company pivoted to Lightfield, an AI-powered sales CRM, and the Tome brand was subsequently acquired by AngelList. If you are looking for a Tome replacement, the product no longer exists and is not coming back.

This page covers what happened, what the shutdown means for former users, where the market has moved, and how to choose a replacement based on what you actually used Tome for.

What Happened to Tome

The timeline

Tome launched in 2020, founded by Keith Peiris and Henri Liriani, both former Facebook product leaders. The product was distinctive: scrollable, narrative-first presentations that felt closer to interactive documents than traditional slide decks.By early 2025, Tome had accumulated roughly 10 million users but only around $3.5 million in annual recurring revenue. That ratio, enormous usage against minimal monetization, is the core of what happened next.

In March 2025, co-founder Keith Peiris announced on LinkedIn that the company was pivoting. The team was becoming Lightfield, focused on AI for sales teams rather than general presentations. On April 30, 2025, the consumer presentation product shut down.

AngelList subsequently acquired the Tome brand and technology, integrating elements into its fund operations platform.

Why it happened

The stated rationale centered on monetization. A general-purpose AI presentation tool competing against Gamma (which reached $100 million ARR in the same period), Canva (265 million monthly users), and Microsoft Copilot (bundled with Office) faced a difficult path. Tome's users loved the product but did not convert to paid at rates that could sustain the business.

The broader lesson for the category: standalone AI presentation generation is commoditizing. Survival requires either massive scale, ecosystem lock-in, or unique context access that competitors cannot replicate.

What happened to user data

Tome provided a window for users to export their content before shutdown. Decks created in Tome could be exported to PDF and, in some cases, PowerPoint. Users who missed the export window lost access.

If you still have Tome exports sitting in a folder, they are static files. There is no migration path that preserves Tome's interactive, scrollable format because no other tool implements that format.

Where Tome Users Have Gone

Gamma

The closest direct replacement for Tome's prompt-to-deck workflow.Like Tome, it uses a card-based rather than slide-based model, and shares are link-first.

Similar to Tome: fast AI generation, web-native output, polished default design, card-based rather than rigid slides.

Different from Tome: Gamma's cards are more presentation-oriented than Tome's scrollable narrative format. Gamma also does documents, websites, and social content.

Pricing: Free (400 non-refreshing credits), Plus $9/month, Pro ~$18-20/month.

Beautiful.ai

For users who valued Tome's design quality above its narrative format. Smart Slides auto-format content with consistent polish across 300+ layouts.

Similar to Tome: strong design automation, professional output without design skill.

Different from Tome: traditional slide format, no narrative scroll, and no free plan ($12/month minimum, credit card required for trial).

Canva AI

For users who need broader visual content creation. Largest template library in the category, strong brand controls, and a genuinely usable free tier.

Similar to Tome: visual-first approach, easy for non-designers.

Different from Tome: design-platform orientation rather than AI-first generation. Canva's AI produces a starting point; the editor is where you finish.

ClickUp Brain

For users whose Tome decks were about work: project updates, team status, client reports, and internal presentations.

Similar to Tome: simple, opinionated, generate-then-refine workflow. Included at no separate cost.

Different from Tome: generates from your actual workspace data rather than from prompts. Traditional deck layouts rather than scrollable narrative.

Choosing Based on What You Used Tome For

If you used Tome for narrative storytelling

Tome's scrollable format was genuinely unique. Nothing replicates it exactly. The closest alternatives are Gamma (card-based, closest in spirit) or building in a web-native tool that supports long-form scroll.

Accept that this specific format is gone from the market. The reason no one else built it: audiences and organizations expect slide-shaped presentations, and the format created friction in business contexts.

If you used Tome for fast AI drafts

Gamma is faster and produces higher-quality first drafts than Tome did at shutdown. This is the easiest migration.

If you used Tome for work presentations

Consider whether the underlying problem was ever "I need a presentation tool." If your decks were about projects, status, or team work, the more useful question is whether the presentation should be generated from the work itself rather than authored separately.

ClickUp Brain generates decks from tasks, Docs, and project context. For teams whose presentations report on tracked work, this removes the data-gathering step that preceded every Tome deck.

If you used Tome for client-facing decks

Beautiful.ai (brand governance) or Plus AI (native PowerPoint output) depending on whether design consistency or file format matters more to your clients.

The Bigger Lesson: Tool Longevity Risk

Tome's shutdown is a reminder that single-purpose SaaS tools carry continuity risk. When a tool that holds your content pivots or shuts down, you lose access, your team loses a workflow, and migration costs time nobody budgeted.

Considerations when evaluating a replacement:

1. Business model sustainability. A tool with 10 million users and $3.5 million ARR is not sustainable. Check whether the vendor has a credible path to revenue.

2. Export availability. Can you get your content out in a usable format at any time, not just during a shutdown window?

3. Consolidation vs. proliferation. Every additional standalone tool is an additional dependency, subscription, and continuity risk. Tools embedded in platforms you already depend on carry less isolated risk.

4. Format lock-in. Tome's scrollable format meant content could not migrate. Standard formats (PPTX, PDF, HTML) travel; proprietary formats do not.

ClickUp Brain: AI Slides Built Into Your Work

ClickUp Brain generates polished slide decks from your tasks, Docs, and workspace context. If you used Tome to present project work, ClickUp removes the step where you copy information from your project tool into a presentation tool.

Why ClickUp makes sense as a Tome replacement

• The presentation source is your work. Tasks, Docs, project status, and team context are already in ClickUp, and Brain generates from them directly.
• One less tool to manage. Tome was another login, another subscription, another place to look for the current version.
• Free forever. Tome's free tier disappeared with the product. Brain is included in all ClickUp plans.
• Continuity. ClickUp is a workspace platform, not a single-purpose tool that can pivot away from your use case. The AI slides capability is one feature among many, not the entire business model.

Honest limitations compared to Tome

• No scrollable or narrative format; ClickUp generates traditional deck layouts
• No PowerPoint export currently
• No dedicated slide editor (refinement is conversational)
• No PDF/PPT/Keynote import

If Tome's narrative format was your primary reason for using it, Gamma is a closer spiritual replacement. If Tome was where you turned project work into presentations, ClickUp Brain is the more natural successor because it eliminates the manual data transfer that step required.

Comparison for Tome migrants