Case Study
sumo
A suite of 8 creative web apps featured by Google as a favourite Chromebook app of 2021
Sumo Apps is a suite of 8 browser-based creative tools — including an image editor, a digital audio workstation, a 3D editor, a code editor, a video editor, and more — built for accessibility and performance on any device. As Founding Engineer, I initiated and built the new creative suite from scratch, starting with the Paint web app and then the Tunes DAW. I went on to build 3D, Code, and Video from the ground up, and maintained and improved the Audio, Pixel, and Photo apps. Paint was later improved with a major update by Miika Kuisma. The platform was featured by Google as one of their favourite Chromebook apps of 2021, reached #1 on Startup100.net twice, and was pre-installed on Samsung devices in Spain through a device partnership.
Involvement
My role
Founding Engineer — initiated the new creative suite from the ground up
Built Paint (image editor), Tunes (DAW), 3D (3D editor), Code (code editor), and Video (video editor) from scratch
Maintained and improved Audio, Pixel, and Photo apps
Google App Licensing integration for Workspace Marketplace
Performance optimisation for low-powered Chromebook hardware
Cross-browser compatibility and Progressive Web App implementation
At the Sumo Apps booth, Slush 2022 — Helsinki
Deliverables
What I shipped
Paint — browser-based image editor (later improved with a major update by Miika Kuisma)
Tunes — digital audio workstation (DAW) for the web
3D — 3D editor web application
Code — coding application
Video — video editor with server-side queues, jobs, and processing pipeline
Audio, Pixel, and Photo apps — maintained and improved
Google App Licensing integration
Samsung device partnership — Sumo Apps pre-installed on Samsung devices in Spain
Progressive Web App (PWA) with offline support
Mobile-responsive layouts and touch interactions across all apps
Paint
Tunes
3D
Pixel
Deep dive
Hard problems solved
Problem
Creative tools needed to run smoothly on low-powered Chromebook hardware with limited memory.
Decision
Implemented lazy loading, canvas layer virtualisation, and aggressive memory management. Profiled on actual Chromebook devices throughout development.
Result
Smooth performance on Chromebooks with as little as 4GB RAM, contributing to Google featuring Sumo as a favourite Chromebook app of 2021.
Problem
The suite grew to 8 creative apps — each with fundamentally different technical requirements (Canvas 2D, WebGL, Web Audio, video processing) — yet needed a consistent user experience.
Decision
Built a shared component library and unified state management pattern that all apps extended, while allowing each to optimise for its specific rendering pipeline.
Result
Consistent look and feel across all 8 tools while each app could leverage its own specialised APIs (Canvas, WebGL, Web Audio).
Problem
Video generation required heavy server-side processing (encoding, compositing) that could not run in the browser.
Decision
Designed a queue-and-job architecture for backend video processing with progress callbacks to the client, keeping the UI responsive during long renders.
Result
Users could generate videos without blocking the browser, with real-time progress feedback.
Problem
Monetising a browser-based creative suite through Google Workspace Marketplace required complex licensing flows.
Decision
Integrated Google App Licensing API to verify subscription status, handle seat-based licensing, and sync entitlements with internal billing.
Result
Seamless purchase and licensing flow through Google Workspace Marketplace, enabling a scalable revenue channel.
The result
Key outcomes
8
Creative web apps in the suite
Featured as favourite Chromebook app of 2021
Samsung
Device partnership — pre-installed in Spain
#1
On Startup100.net (Finland) — reached twice
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