Grammarly vs Notion: Founders, CEOs and History
Grammarly was founded in 2009 by Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, Dmytro Lider and is led by Shishir Mehrotra. Notion was founded in 2013 by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last and is led by Ivan Zhao.
Company facts
Founders
Grammarly
Max Lytvyn
Max Lytvyn co-founded Grammarly in 2009 with Alex Shevchenko and Dmytro Lider. The idea came from their MyDropBox work: helping people write well rather than catching plagiarism afterwards.
Alex Shevchenko
Alex Shevchenko co-founded Grammarly in 2009 and helped shape it as a product-led company built around a free tier. That approach scaled through the 2015 Chrome extension.
Dmytro Lider
Dmytro Lider co-founded Grammarly in 2009 and led early work on its language technology from Kyiv, where the company kept a large engineering presence.
Notion
Ivan Zhao
Ivan Zhao is co-founder and CEO of Notion Labs. Inspired by computing pioneers such as Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay, he started Notion in 2013 to let people without programming skills build their own tools.
Simon Last
Simon Last is Notion's co-founder and has been central to the product's engineering since the beginning, including the 2015 Kyoto rebuild that produced the block-based architecture Notion still uses.
CEOs and their tenures
Grammarly
- Brad Hoover2011–2023
Former Chief Executive Officer
Led Grammarly through its bootstrapped years, the 2015 free-extension launch, and funding rounds in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Source - Rahul Roy-Chowdhury2023–2025
Chief Executive Officer
Former Google Chrome product lead; head of product at Grammarly before becoming CEO in May 2023, overseeing the launch of GrammarlyGO generative features.
Source - Shishir Mehrotra2025–present
Chief Executive Officer
Co-founder of Coda and former YouTube product executive; became CEO when Grammarly acquired Coda, led the Superhuman Mail deal, the Superhuman rebrand and the GPTZero agreement.
Source
Notion
- Ivan Zhao2013–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Led the 2015 Kyoto rebuild, the 2018 Notion 2.0 breakout, the 2021 Series C at $10 billion, and the 2025-2026 shift to AI agents.
Source - Akshay Kothari2018–present
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Joined as co-founder and COO and built Notion's international expansion and go-to-market operations.
Source
Timeline: Grammarly and Notion side by side
2009Grammarly
Grammarly Founded in Kyiv, Ukraine
Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Lider founded Grammarly to help people communicate clearly in English.
2011Grammarly
Brad Hoover Becomes CEO
Brad Hoover, a former General Catalyst investor, became CEO; the company later based its headquarters in San Francisco while engineering stayed in Kyiv.
2013Notion
Notion Labs Founded in San Francisco
Ivan Zhao and Simon Last founded Notion in San Francisco, inspired by computing pioneer Douglas Engelbart.
2015Grammarly
Launches Free Chrome Extension & Ignites Viral PLG Growth
Debuted the free Chrome browser extension, transforming Grammarly into an omnipresent consumer phenomenon.
2015Notion
Near-Collapse & The Kyoto Rebuild Sprint
Facing imminent bankruptcy, Ivan Zhao and Simon Last moved to Kyoto, Japan, rebuilding Notion from scratch.
2016Notion
Launch of Notion 1.0 Block-Based Canvas
Released Notion 1.0 publicly, introducing the modular block-based document and wiki interface to wide acclaim.
2017Grammarly
$110M First Outside Funding Round Led by General Catalyst
After eight years of profitable bootstrapping, raised $110 million led by Hemant Taneja at General Catalyst.
2018Grammarly
Grammarly Business Expands Enterprise Offering
Grew its paid offering for corporate teams with admin, billing and style controls.
2018Notion
Launch of Notion 2.0 with Relational Databases
Unveiled Notion 2.0, introducing multi-view databases (Kanban, calendar, table), igniting rapid viral growth.
2019Grammarly
$90M Round at $1.0B+ Unicorn Valuation Led by General Catalyst
Achieved official unicorn status, debuting tone detection to evaluate emotional resonance in writing.
2019Notion
Achieved Operating Profitability on $10M Seed Capital
Reached operational profitability with under 20 employees and $10M in total funding, a rarity in SaaS.
2020Notion
$50M Investment Led by Index Ventures at $2.0B Valuation
Raised $50 million led by Index Ventures, achieving unicorn status as global remote work adoption surged.
2021Grammarly
$200M Financing at $13.0B Valuation Led by Baillie Gifford
Raised $200 million at a $13 billion valuation in a round led by Baillie Gifford and BlackRock funds.
2021Notion
$275M Series C at $10.0B Valuation Led by Coatue and Sequoia
Raised $275 million led by Coatue and Sequoia at a $10 billion valuation; also acquired Automate.io.
2022Notion
Acquisition of Cron & International Expansion to Japan
Acquired calendar app Cron and opened an official Tokyo office to serve its devoted Japanese community.
2023Grammarly
Rahul Roy-Chowdhury Appointed CEO & Launches Grammarly AI
Former Google executive Rahul Roy-Chowdhury became CEO, launching generative AI and contextual email rewrites.
2023Notion
Public Launch of Notion AI Q&A Across All Workspaces
Debuted Notion AI Q&A, allowing users to query enterprise knowledge bases using conversational AI.
2024Grammarly
Agreement to Acquire Coda
Grammarly agreed to acquire Coda in December 2024; Coda co-founder Shishir Mehrotra became Grammarly's CEO.
2025Grammarly
$1B Financing, Superhuman Mail Deal and Rebrand
Closed $1 billion from General Catalyst in May, completed the Superhuman Mail acquisition in July and renamed the company Superhuman on October 29.
2026Grammarly
Superhuman Docs Launch and GPTZero Deal
Rebuilt Coda as Superhuman Docs and agreed on June 23 to acquire GPTZero.
2026Notion
Surpasses $500M Annualized Revenue and Launches AI Agents
Notion told CNBC in September 2025 that annualized revenue had passed $500 million as it launched Notion AI agents.
Acquisitions
Grammarly
- GPTZero2026Undisclosed
- Superhuman (Superhuman Mail)2025Undisclosed
- Coda2024Undisclosed
Questions about Grammarly vs Notion
Who is the CEO of Grammarly Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc.?
Grammarly Inc. is led by Shishir Mehrotra and Notion Labs, Inc. is led by Ivan Zhao. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Grammarly Inc. founded vs Notion Labs, Inc.?
Grammarly Inc. was founded in 2009 — 4 years before Notion Labs, Inc., which was founded in 2013. Grammarly Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Notion Labs, Inc..
How many employees does Grammarly Inc. have compared to Notion Labs, Inc.?
Grammarly Inc. employs approximately 1,000 people, while Notion Labs, Inc. employs approximately 1,000. Grammarly Inc. has the larger workforce at 1,000 employees, compared to Notion Labs, Inc.'s 1,000. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Grammarly Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc. headquartered?
Both Grammarly Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Grammarly Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc.?
Grammarly Inc. was founded by Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, Dmytro Lider. Notion Labs, Inc. was founded by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last.
Which company has a longer operating history — Grammarly Inc. or Notion Labs, Inc.?
Grammarly Inc. has been operating for approximately 17 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Notion Labs, Inc. has been in operation for around 13 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Grammarly vs Notion overview