This Grammarly history overview covers Grammarly’s story, starting with its inception in 2009.
Grammarly was founded in July 2009 by Alex Shevchenko, Max Lytvyn, and Dmytro Lider. The software program itself is furnished by Grammarly, Inc. and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Grammarly also has offices in Vancouver, New York City, and Kyiv. For a detailed look at one of the top tools, see our Grammarly review.
The company released its initial software program as a paid subscription product and an online editor. The goal was to help students with their writing, helping people learn the basic building blocks of the English language. A success, Grammarly’s investors attracted the attention of experienced businessman Brad Hoover in 2011. He became CEO. Hoover helped the initial founders distill the program into a framework that guided everything they did moving forward. He says the company has been profitable almost “since inception”.
Grammarly eventually grew to include a browser extension that could correct basic spelling and grammar issues. The browser extension was released in 2015, leading to an explosion in the average number of daily users. Today, the company employs approximately 90 employees, some of whom are based in San Francisco. You might also find our explainer on how to use Grammarly helpful.
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When Did Grammarly Come Out?
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant founded in July 2009 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Alex Shevchenko, Max Lytvyn, and Dmytro Lider. Headquartered in San Francisco and operated by Grammarly, Inc., it grew from a student-focused grammar tool to a platform serving over 30 million daily users, achieving unicorn status after a $90 million funding round in 2019.
Grammarly History Timeline
In 2009, Grammarly was founded.
In 2010, Grammarly released its editor.
In 2011, current CEO Brad Hoover joined Grammarly.
In 2013, Grammarly was named on the Inc 500 list. It also released a Microsoft Office add-in.
In 2014, Grammarly was a Crunchie finalist.
In 2015, Grammarly released many popular extensions for browsers like Chrome. It claims one million customers.
In 2016, Grammarly began acquiring mainstream recognition for its grammar checker capabilities. It was featured in many publications, including Lifehacker and PC World.
In 2017, Grammarly completed its first funding round for $110 million. That same year, it released its virtual mobile keyboard on Android and iOS, receiving praise from many reviewers. It claims seven million users.
In 2018, Grammarly released a version directly compatible with Google Docs. Instead of copying and pasting their documents into a separate window, users have access to an optimized version of Grammarly for Google Docs. It also began offering Grammarly coupon for users.
In 2019, Grammarly completed a $90 million seed round with investors, securing its tech unicorn status. It also released a tone detector. This feature enables users to optimize their articles, blog posts and emails for an intended audience, i.e., formal, casual, etc. The company also increased its spending on YouTube advertising. Grammarly also announced plans for a business version of its grammar checker.
In 2020, Grammarly released a business version of its software and a version for iPad. This version supports a custom style guide and extended collaboration. It also rolled out an advanced AI writing assistant that automatically corrects your writing with a click.
The company released advanced editing tools and a sidebar for Google Docs users. The company also invested in Docugami’s seed round. Docugami provides AI software for creating documents for businesses. Grammarly also provided support for Microsoft Word and Outlook. Techradar also listed it as one of the best Mac apps for home workers.
In 2021, Grammarly switched to a work-from-home model for its employees. It also reported that 30,000 teams are using Grammarly Business.
The company released a software developer kit or SDK beta that enables developers to embed automated text editing into any web app. Rob Brazier, head of product at Grammarly told Techcrunch:
“Literally in just a couple lines of HTML, [developers] can add Grammarly’s assistance to their application, and they get a native Grammarly experiences available to all of their users without the users needing to install or register Grammarly,” Brazier told me.
In 2022, Grammarly stopped business relations with Russia and Belarus. It also provided free access to its tool to the Ukrainian media. It claims over 30 million users.
In 2023, Grammarly launched its AI-powered writing assistant GrammarlyGO, built on GPT-3 large language models. In October 2023, Grammarly also appointed its new CEO Rahul Roy-Chowdhury.
Grammarly Valuation Today
Grammarly has raised over $200 million in funding to date. According to a Techcruch report, Grammarly raised over $90 million during its second round of funding in 2019. Since then, its userbase and feature set have widely grown. For example, the company has rolled out Grammarly Business and an AI-powered writing assistant. It has also invested heavily in paid advertising. Today, according to PrivCo and some Crunchbase statistics, the valuation of Grammarly is between ten billion dollars and 13 billion dollars. Today it claims over 30 million daily active users, who are predominantly English speakers in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Grammarly founded?
Grammarly was founded in July 2009 by three Ukrainian entrepreneurs: Alex Shevchenko, Max Lytvyn, and Dmytro Lider. It was initially launched as a paid subscription product and online editor aimed at helping students improve their English writing skills.
Who is the CEO of Grammarly?
Brad Hoover has been the CEO of Grammarly since 2011. An experienced businessman, Hoover joined after the company attracted investor attention and helped the founders build a strategic framework that guided Grammarly’s growth. He has noted the company has been profitable almost since its inception.
When did Grammarly release its browser extension?
Grammarly released its browser extension in 2015, supporting popular browsers including Google Chrome. The launch led to a significant explosion in daily active users, helping Grammarly reach one million customers and transition from a niche writing tool to a mainstream grammar-checking product.
How has Grammarly been funded?
Grammarly completed its first major funding round of $110 million in 2017, followed by a $90 million seed round in 2019. The 2019 round secured Grammarly’s status as a tech unicorn, meaning it reached a valuation of over $1 billion. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in New York City, Vancouver, and Kyiv.
What major features has Grammarly added over the years?
Grammarly has expanded significantly beyond basic spell-checking. Key feature additions include a Microsoft Office add-in in 2013, a mobile keyboard for Android and iOS in 2017, a Google Docs-compatible version in 2018, and a tone detector in 2019 that helps users adjust writing style for formal or casual audiences. A dedicated business version was also announced in 2019.