Categories: World

How Covid-19 made Ukrainian duo billionaires through spelling app, Grammarly

Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko, two of the three founders of Grammarly, the app that automatically corrects its users’ written English and makes it error-free are now worth over $2.4 billion each.

Grammarly is already one of the world’s biggest unicorns after raising $200 million in 2021 from investors, which raised the valuation of the company to $13 billion. Before then the company got its previous funding in 2019 and was valued at over $2 billion as at then.

Advertisement

The app recorded a  significant increase in its userbase in 2014 when it offered a free plan with basic features and the option to pay for advanced ones. A year later, it released free browser extensions. That helped it build a loyal base of customers with about 30,000 teams at big-name companies, including Expedia Group Inc.

However, the app experienced a major breakthrough during the Covid-19 pandemic as there was a massive shift to remote working. People started relying heavily on the app to check their spelling and grammatical errors.

Advertisement

According to Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly, “We saw our business accelerate with the move to remote work, In the past, people were left to their own devices to figure out how to communicate well. We’re now at a very unique point in time to use software to enable people to communicate.”

Shevchenko and Lytvyn, the founders of Grammarly, while recounting how they got the idea for the company, stated that they met in college while they were both studying business administration at the International Christian University of Kyiv in the late 1990s.

Advertisement

Afterwards, they both moved to the  U.S. and Canada to pursue master’s degrees in the same field and got the idea for Grammarly from a previous company they created to help prevent plagiarism.

Being non-native English speakers, they wanted to help solve the challenges people encountered while putting out information in English. Hence, they created the app with the initial intention of helping university students.

Advertisement

For a company that didn’t raise money until they were eight years old in the business, they have grown significantly and are currently going into partnerships and introducing new products like their upcoming partnership for a Samsung keyboard and Grammarly for Developers.

Advertisement
Ayoola Olaitan

Recent Posts

Dele Farotimi released from Ekiti correctional centre

Human rights advocate Dele Farotimi has been released from the Ekiti State correctional facility after…

4 hours ago

Breaking: Ibadan Stampede: Court Orders Remand Of Ooni’s Ex-Wife, School Principal

A Chief Magistrate in Ibadan, Olabisi Ogunkanmi, has ordered the remand of Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, the…

5 hours ago

Nkechi Blessing gets engaged to younger lover, Xxssive [VIDEO]

Popular Nollywood actress, Nkechi Blessing has finally got engaged to her younger lover, Xxssive. This…

6 hours ago

GOAT: Who said Messi is better than me – Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has jokingly reacted to a Lionel Messi taunt as he…

6 hours ago

Regina Daniels reveals the best way to predict one’s future as she shares more photos from her vacation

Popular Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels who is still enjoying her trip to the United States,…

7 hours ago

Jay-Z has no ‘plans to show loyalty to longtime friend Diddy’ as he battles r@pe allegation

Jay-Z has no plans to show loyalty to longtime friend Sean 'Diddy' Combs amid the…

7 hours ago