About us

We are GRID

GRID was founded in 2018 by software and data veterans. We’re united by our shared passion for the versatility and power of spreadsheets.

GRID Group 2024

Building the future of spreadsheets

GRID builds the spreadsheet technology that lets software teams bring spreadsheet capabilities natively into their products, with the performance, compatibility, and AI readiness that modern applications demand.

The technology powers products like Calculator Studio, a tool for building real-time interactive calculators on top of spreadsheets, and underpins the spreadsheet capabilities of a leading AI assistant. Through our own Spreadsheet LLM we’ve developed deep expertise in what it takes to make AI and spreadsheets work together reliably.

Founded in 2018, GRID is a team of software and data veterans based in Reykjavík, Iceland. With deep expertise in data analytics, business intelligence, and software, we’re united by a shared belief in the versatility and untapped power of spreadsheets.

Careers at GRID

Our team

Management

Hjalmar Gislason

Hjalmar Gislason

Founder & CEO

Hjalmar Gislason is the founder and CEO of GRID. Hjalmar previously served as VP of Product Management at Qlik in Boston. He was the founder and CEO of DataMarket, founded in 2008 and sold to Qlik in 2014. A career data nerd and entrepreneur, GRID is Hjalmar’s fifth software startup as a founder.

Thorsteinn Yngvi Gudmundsson

Thorsteinn Yngvi Gudmundsson

VP of Operations & Co Founder

Thorsteinn Yngvi Gudmundsson, co-founder and VP of Operations & Finance at GRID. Thorsteinn has served in managerial positions in the tech industry primarily focused on building new ventures internationally. Thorsteinn worked with Hjalmar as VP of Operations at DataMarket. Prior to that he held positions as a CEO, GTM lead, VP Operations, Finance lead, Product manager & Board Director. Thorsteinn holds an undergraduate and MBA degree from Reykjavik University.

Eva Dogg Steingrimsdottir

Eva Dogg Steingrimsdottir

VP of Software Development

Eva Dögg Steingrímsdóttir is VP of Software Development at GRID. Eva is an experienced frontend developer and software team leader and has worked in such roles for early startups and international airlines alike. Eva holds undergraduate degrees in both computer science and psychology. An avid & competitive cyclist, Eva enjoys few things more than speeding around Iceland in the midnight sun.

Our team

Staff

Borgar Þorsteinsson

Borgar Þorsteinsson

Co-Founder, Engineering

Steinn Eldjárn Sigurðarson

Steinn Eldjárn Sigurðarson

Co-Founder, Engineering

Atli Páll Hafsteinsson

Atli Páll Hafsteinsson

Engineering

Birkir Pálmason

Birkir Pálmason

Engineering

Gunnlaugur Þór Briem

Gunnlaugur Þór Briem

Engineering

Hörður Ragnarsson

Hörður Ragnarsson

Product Design

Kristen Martel

Kristen Martel

Director, Calculator Studio

Matt Riggott

Matt Riggott

Engineering

Our Team

Board of Directors

KristinPetursd

Kristín Pétursdóttir

Chairman of the Board — Consultant

ForestBaskett_

Forest Baskett

Special Partner, NEA

CiaranOLeary

Ciarán O'Leary

General Partner, BlueYard

AnthonyDeighton_

Anthony Deighton

CEO, Tamr

Hjalmar_Headshot_2024

Hjalmar Gislason

Founder & CEO, GRID

nea menlopark hilariekoplow-2062x1375

Hilarie Koplow-McAdams

Board Observer — Venture Partner, NEA

Our investors

We’re lucky to have some amazing partners with us on our journey, including:

BlueYard Capital Logo

BlueYard invests in founders with transforming ideas that decentralize markets and empower humanity.

logo-nea

New Enterprise Associates: Foundational partners to ambitious founders at every stage of company-building.

Slack fund logo

Slack Fund partners with early-stage founders who have big ideas about the ways people work together.

News

Updates and announcements

02.12.2024

Bringing spreadsheets into the AI-first era

Introducing GRID's new mission The current wave of AI is arguably the biggest shift in user interfaces since the advent of the GUI. Meanwhile, spreadsheets remain a cornerstone of the business world — resilient, ubiquitous, and indispensable despite repeated predictions of their demise. The fusion of AI and spreadsheets is poised to be big, but it requires a fundamental rethinking — not bringing AI to traditional spreadsheets, but reimagining spreadsheets and their workflows for the AI-first era. With a unique set of cutting-edge spreadsheet technologies, GRID is uniquely positioned — and determined — to lead this transformation. AI-First The AI-first paradigm is defined by three key characteristics: Language-oriented: We interact with computers in our language, not theirs. Task-centric: Work starts with the task at hand, not the hunt for the right software. Agentic: Computers will act on our behalf, even when we’re not there. Spreadsheets Spreadsheets are not just tools; they are foundational to modern business: Ubiquitous: Over 1 billion users worldwide rely on them. Empowering: As the original low-code solution, they enable business users to solve problems independently. The fabric of business: Spreadsheets likely hold more business logic and data than any formal IT system. Bringing them together With the world’s most advanced independent spreadsheet engine — designed for lightning-fast performance and seamless compatibility with Excel and Google Sheets — and a suite of other powerful spreadsheet technologies, GRID is uniquely positioned to redefine the future of spreadsheets in an AI-first world. We’re bridging the gap between AI and spreadsheets, delivering the reliable and verifiable calculations that AI solutions currently lack. Bringing spreadsheets to ChatGPT Today, we’re taking a major step forward by expanding the Alpha testing of our ChatGPT solution and opening registrations for early access. Sign up now to secure your spot in the Alpha and see GRID’s solution in action!

26.08.2020

GRID closes $12M in Series A funding round led by NEA

We’re thrilled to announce that we have closed a $12M Series A funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from our existing investors BlueYard Capital, Slack Fund, Acequia Capital and other strategic partners! This funding will enable us to bring GRID to market and power accelerated product development. ‍ For more information see our press release. Additional coverage: Tech Crunch: GRID raises $12M Series A to turn spreadsheets into 'visual narratives' SiliconANGLE: Iceland's Grid lands $12M to help workers make their spreadsheets more visual Tech Target:  Analytics startup Grid raises $12 million in funding

27.03.2019

GRID closes $3.5M seed funding

We are thrilled to share some great news with you: We just closed $3.5M in seed funding! The investment is led by BlueYard Capital, with participation from strategic investors such as Slack Fund, Acequia Capital and angel investor Charlie Songhurst. We are happy to work with this group, as they add a lot of value to our mission other than their funding. Needless to say, they deeply believe in our mission to empower people to turn any spreadsheet into a beautiful web report, dashboard or interactive application. After our private Alpha launch a few weeks ago, we are now all heads-down again working on product, strategy, network expansion and go-to-market planning. This investment - on top of our $1M angel round in October - fuels current plans well into 2021. It gives us breathing room to focus on building the initial version of our product, take it to market and grow it from there - by delighting our users. We will be adding a few people to our team in the coming weeks and months. This is a fantastic opportunity to join an exciting startup at an inflection point. Take a look at our open positions, and keep an eye on our tweets.

Visit our blog

blog

08.07.2025

The way we interact with spreadsheets is changing

Imagining the future of AI-ready spreadsheets - and exploring the technology GRID has built to help shape it

Alexandra Dilja Bjargardottir

Alexandra Dilja Bjargardottir

Read more

Spreadsheets run the world

We run spreadsheets

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