In a world where attention to detail is often in short supply, Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko zeroed in on an opportunity that would make them a fortune. As students studying business administration at Ukraineโs International Christian University of Kyiv during the late 90s, they decided to pursue masters degrees in North America. There, the duo had the bright idea to create something to prevent plagiarism. Eventually, the objective evolved. And what had once been artificial intelligence designed to prevent a cheeky copy-paste was soon correcting typos and improving sentences in remarkably efficient fashion. This is the story of Grammarly.
Chances are, youโve encountered the almost-inescapable ads on YouTube. Hell, like me, you might even be one of its loyal users (because a digital safety net never hurts). Whatever the case, you probably didnโt realise that since its official establishment circa 2009, the operation behind this handy product โ which is also available as a free browser extension โ has become one of the worldโs largest unicorns.
In 2019, a funding round valued the company at over US$2 billion / AU$2.78 billion. Then COVID-19 happened. Thankfully, it proved to be quite the unexpected boon. Fast forward to last November, Grammarly raised another US$200 million / AU$278.6 million from investors such as BlackRock Inc and Baillie Gifford, revising the companyโs valuation to US$13 billion / AU$18.1 billion.
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โWe saw our business accelerate with the move to remote work,โ reveals Ben Hoover, former venture capitalist turned CEO of Grammarly Inc.
โIn the past, people were left to their own devices to figure out how to communicate well. Weโre now at a very unique point in time to use software to enable people to communicate.โ
โWeโre now at a very unique point in time to use software to enable people to communicate effectively, to augment them.โ
To date, Grammarly has over 600 employees who engage with half a million-plus applications in order to analyse a staggering 14 trillion words per year for its 30 million international daily active users.
โI was blown away by the product and the team,โ adds Hoover, who joined Team Grammarly way back when in 2011 from VC firm General Catalyst Partners after searching for a way to help his own writing; long before it was the well-oiled machine we know/love/enjoy today.
โWe were founded outside of the US and didnโt raise money until we were eight years old as a company. And itโs very unique that weโre profitable. We have been from the early days.โ
Naturally, success of this magnitude has rewarded its founders beyond their wildest imagination. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko retain a net worth of โat leastโ US$2.4 billion / AU$3.34 billion each in light of their respective holdings and the companyโs total valuation.
The finances of Grammarlyโs third co-founder Dmytro Lider, however, have yet to be disclosed. But itโs safe to assume heโs sitting just as pretty thanks to his own position (โAs an employee group, we have the majority,โ offers Hoover).
โWe founded Grammarly with the goal of using technology to help people communicate what they mean, a mission born from our own experiences as non-native English speakers,โ explains Alex Shevchenko.
โOur roots gave us a unique perspective on the complexity and power of language in helping people reach their goals.โ
โWeโre proud to represent Ukraine on the world stage.โ
Though itโd be silly to assume this golden goose will keep laying gilded eggs without any sort of resistance. As outlined by Bloomberg, Grammarly faces a number of new challenges as it approaches the next stage of growth.
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Researchers have apparently been raising concerns about how software of this kind could โfundamentally alter human expressionโ; echoing broader sentiments from the tech industry surrounding the increased reliance on artificial intelligence, ranging from Elon Muskโs warnings it could be used as โweapons of terrorโ to former Google executive Kai-Fu Leeโs prediction that automation is positioned to replace โ40% of human jobs in 15 years.โ
โGrammarly must withstand a number of new AI-powered writing aids, including Microsoft Editor,โ writes Blake Schmidt and Alexander Sazonov of Bloomberg.
โThe company is trying to stay ahead of the competition with new products including for desktops, Grammarly for Developers, and a partnership for a Samsung keyboard.โ
The innovation is also gradually worming its way into mainstream higher learning as well. Iowa State University English professor Jim Ranalli, for one, has recently applied for a grant to purchase 1,500 Grammarly premium licenses, thereby aiding students enrolled in writing-intensive courses. Ranalli notes the productโs feedback is particularly useful for fixing subject-verb agreement problems, incorrect prepositions, and missing articles.
โIt always finds one or two things Iโve missed in an email Iโm about to send off,โ says Professor Ranalli.
โTo fundamentally enable people to communicate and connect, to unlock problems, reduce disputes, come up with new ideas,โ says Ben Hoover.
For the time being, thereโs simply no telling where Grammarly will find itself in a few yearsโ time. All we know for certain is that itโs corrected a total of 17 mistakes in this very article โ composed by a professional writer, no less. That alone should give you a better idea of why itโs valued at 11 figures.
