San Francisco-based startup Grammarly is on a mission to transform how people and organizations around the world communicate. On Wednesday, the unicorn announced the arrival of a massive investment to move that mission forward as it continues to scale. Grammarly grabbed $200 million at a whopping $13 billion valuation in a round that included investments by Baillie Gifford and BlackRock, among others.
Grammarly’s core product is an AI-powered writing assistant that offers guidance on multiple aspects of communication including conciseness, consistency, vocabulary, tone and more. With Grammarly, users don’t have to choose one software suite or operating system to receive feedback, the company’s tech is available across more than 500,000 applications and websites.
“We’ve always believed the ability to communicate effectively should not be dependent on which application or operating system you choose,” Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly, said in a statement.
Grammarly’s business clients include big name companies like Zoom, Cisco and Expedia. On average, Grammarly’s enterprise customers report a 20 percent efficiency increase and up to a 30 percent improvement in customer satisfaction scores, according to the company.
Following the latest raise, Grammarly plans to invest in the continued development of its core product. The company recently launched a desktop version of its app across both Windows and Mac systems. Moving forward, Grammarly plans to build on several of the platform’s existing features including its tone adjustment and fluency feedback capabilities.
“This is a big step toward breaking down technological barriers and achieving effective communication where important writing happens,” Hoover continued. “With one easy installation, our writing suggestions will now work across more desktop and web applications than ever before.”
In addition to product development, Grammarly also plans to invest in its partnerships. In October the company announced it would partner with Samsung Mobile to integrate its editing tech into mobile keyboards natively, with no app installation required.
“As we delve further beyond syntax to semantics we’ll deliver even higher-quality communication suggestions across more stages of the communication process,” Hoover said.
The auto-editing giant is currently on the lookout for over 80 fresh faces to join its team. Available roles span the company’s data, engineering, HR and marketing teams, to name a few.
Grammarly has raised $400 million in venture capital financing to date, according to the company.
