Popular writing assistant Grammarly is taking a big step forward with its decision to acquire productivity startup Coda. This means it is aiming to go beyond writing assistance and into the world of productivity tools.
Coda co-founder Shishir Mehrotra will become the CEO of Grammarly with the deal and the current CEO Rahul Roy-Chowdhury will move into an advisory role. The financial details of the deal is a mystery but the potential impact is not.
Grammarly has prominent space in the tech world equipped with 40 million active users and a $13 billion valuation. Coda is currently valued at $1.4 billion following its Series D funding. It has been popular for combining documents, spreadsheets and apps into one smart platform. The two companies can together create something transformative.
The partnership is exciting due to leadership of Mehrotra as he has an experience of Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer at YouTube. He will bring with himself a wealth of knowledge to the table. His shared history with Roy-Chowdhury at Google also is an evident of a strong foundation for collaboration.
However, the real question now is what it means for users. Mehrotra may combine the best of both the platforms and offer features like generative AI chat, full productivity suite and tools to help businesses manage their knowledge more effectively.
The move by Grammarly feels like a natural evolution. The demand for tools that do more than one thing is growing. Merging writing assistance with productivity features means Grammarly is positioning itself as a one-stop solution for professionals and businesses.
It is an exciting time to watch the way the partnership unfolds and bring something new in the way we work and communicate.
