Story of Grammarly: Founders Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider
Story of Grammarly:
Founding Vision
Grammarly was founded in 2009 by Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider
in San Francisco. Their mission was clear from the start: to help people
everywhere improve their writing. What began as a grammar and spell-check tool
quickly evolved into a much broader writing assistant, offering real-time
suggestions to improve clarity, tone, and effectiveness.
Building a Trusted Writing Assistant
Over the years, Grammarly grew into one of the most recognized tools for
communication. Its browser extension and desktop applications became staples
for professionals, students, and everyday users. Today, it is trusted by more
than 40 million people and 50,000 organizations, including 96% of the Fortune
500.
Expanding Beyond Grammar
Grammarly’s focus was never just on grammar. The company positioned itself as
an AI-powered communication partner, helping people write confidently across
different contexts—from essays and emails to business pitches. It became a
daily tool for about 30 million users, proving how powerful effective
communication could be.
Commitment to Responsible AI
The company’s AI innovation is built on a foundation of responsibility.
Grammarly invests heavily in natural language processing (NLP), machine
learning, and generative AI, while also emphasizing bias mitigation and
inclusive language. This thoughtful approach has earned it recognition from
TIME as one of the world’s most influential companies and from Fast Company as
one of the most innovative.
A Privacy-First Business Model
Grammarly’s trust with its users comes from its privacy-first model. Unlike
many tech companies, it makes money through subscriptions, not by selling user
data. With over 15 years of experience in building secure AI, Grammarly has
made user protection a core part of its identity, reinforced by
enterprise-grade security and independent verifications.
Story of Grammarly: Founders Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider#age#net worth#entrepreneur#AI Startup#grammar and spell-check tool
Leadership Transition with Coda Acquisition
In late 2024, Grammarly announced the acquisition of Coda, a productivity
platform. With this move, Coda’s co-founder and CEO, Shishir Mehrotra, stepped
in as the new CEO of Grammarly. This marked a major turning point, as Grammarly
shifted from being just a writing assistant to becoming an AI-powered
productivity platform.
Shishir Mehrotra’s Background
Shishir Mehrotra is a 25+ year tech veteran. Before Coda, he served as
YouTube’s Chief Product Officer and CTO, playing a central role in scaling it
into the world’s largest video platform. At Coda, he built tools like Coda
Docs and Coda Brain, which helped thousands of teams access
knowledge, manage workflows, and improve productivity. Now at Grammarly, his
vision is to combine Grammarly’s trusted AI assistant with Coda’s productivity
tools.
Grammarly + Coda: The New Productivity Era
With the merger, Grammarly aims to redefine productivity. The integration with
Coda Docs and Coda Brain will allow teams to connect knowledge across systems
like email, CRMs, and project trackers. This makes Grammarly not just a writing
assistant, but an AI agent that can streamline entire workflows and improve
organizational efficiency.
Market Position and Recognition
Today, Grammarly serves over 94.8 million monthly visitors and has raised $400
million in private equity funding. Its presence spans across half a million
applications and websites, making it one of the most widely integrated AI tools
in the world. Its influence continues to grow as enterprises increasingly adopt
AI to transform productivity.
The Road Ahead
Under Shishir’s leadership, Grammarly is entering a new chapter. The company’s
mission has expanded from improving writing to redefining productivity in the
AI era. By uniting human creativity with AI-driven assistance, Grammarly is
positioning itself as a category leader in applied AI, ready to shape how
millions of people and organizations work in the future.
Grammarly Timeline
- 2009
– Grammarly founded in San Francisco by Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and
Dmytro Lider.
- 2010–2015
– Grammarly expands from grammar checking to broader writing assistance.
- 2015–2020
– Gains mass adoption; becomes widely used as a browser extension and
desktop app.
- 2021
– Recognized by TIME as one of the 100 most influential companies.
- 2022
– Named among the world’s most innovative AI companies by Fast Company;
ranks in Forbes Cloud 100.
- 2023
– Serves 40M+ people daily and 50K organizations, including 96% of the
Fortune 500.
- Late
2024 – Grammarly acquires Coda; Shishir Mehrotra becomes CEO.
- Jan
2025 – Shishir officially takes over as CEO, steering Grammarly toward
becoming an AI productivity platform.
- 2025
(Present) – Serves 94.8M monthly visitors, with AI agents spanning
500,000+ applications and websites.
