Grammarly Buys AI Startup Coda to Rival Notion

Grammarly has announced its acquisition of Coda, an AI productivity startup that markets itself as “Notion on steroids.”

In the announcement, Grammarly CEO Rahul Roy-Chowdhury highlighted the ongoing technological shift driven by AI, transforming how people collaborate and accomplish tasks.

Grammarly Buys AI Startup Coda to Rival Notion

“As AI continues to reshape the modern workplace, we are witnessing one of the most significant changes in technology, one that redefines work dynamics,” Roy-Chowdhury writes.

“Grammarly’s deep understanding of how people and businesses use AI now—and envision using it in the future—has guided our vision for the market.

We foresee a world where humans and AI work seamlessly together across all areas of work, with AI tools being as intuitive, accessible, and genuinely useful as Grammarly.”

In a notable shift, Grammarly’s CEO, Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, will be stepping down and leaving the company following the announcement of its acquisition of Coda. He will be succeeded by Coda co-founder and CEO Shishir Mehrotra.

While Grammarly officially terms this as an acquisition, Mehrotra, on Coda’s blog, humorously refers to it as a merger. “Coda is merging with Grammarly, the trusted AI assistant for communication and productivity,” he writes. “Together, we will build the AI-native suite of the future.”

The newly combined company will retain the Grammarly name and offer a blend of products from both companies. This includes Grammarly’s writing assistant, which boasts over 40 million active users and a 15-year legacy, alongside Coda’s tools, which are newer to many.

Mehrotra elaborates on Coda’s recent advancements, such as its introduction of AI features to the Notion-like Coda Docs app in 2023 and the development of Coda Brain, an AI assistant that integrates with over 800 privacy-conscious tools.

“Coda Brain helps individuals and teams become more productive by acting as a personal ‘know-it-all,’” he explains. Mehrotra further reveals that the foundational capabilities of AI have shaped his vision for the future, drafting plans for “the AI-native productivity suite” as part of his 2025 strategy.

A meeting between Grammarly and Coda’s leadership led to a shared vision and strategy, culminating in this acquisition (or merger, or partnership—whatever you prefer).

The result is a new Grammarly focused on enhancing its writing assistant by leveraging context from Coda Brain, aiming to unify the Coda Docs app with Grammarly Assistant to challenge Notion (as I see it).

In the longer term, the goal is to integrate the best features of both Coda and Grammarly into a more cohesive and feature-rich productivity suite.

“We aim to redefine productivity for the AI era,” Mehrotra states, which, interestingly, sounds like something Notion might claim as well.

While the terms of the deal have not been revealed, Coda was valued at $1.4 billion in 2021. The companies expect to finalize the transaction by January.

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