What if AI helped you become a better writer instead of just writing for you? That’s the vision behind Thesify, an AI-powered tool for students, researchers, and knowledge workers.
I spoke with co-founder Marc-Oliver Gewaltig about Thesify’s growing user base in Nigeria, the importance of writing in the AI era, and why small startups should avoid competing in overly saturated markets.
In our conversation, Marc-Oliver shared the origin story of Thesify and explained how the tool assists academic users in avoiding the trap of mindless content generation. He also addressed the topic of responsible AI usage in the context of writing. He emphasised that clarity—not complexity—is the true goal of writing.
In a time when artificial intelligence is often associated with corner-cutting or generic content generation, Marc-Oliver Gewaltig and his team at Thesify are pursuing a different path rooted in academic integrity and meaningful learning.
Thesify is an AI-powered writing assistant specifically built for students, researchers, and anyone involved in nonfiction writing. Its core mission is to empower users—especially non-native English speakers—to express their ideas more clearly while learning to write better.
Unlike tools that merely rewrite or generate essays, Thesify emphasises the human aspect of writing. “Writing remains the number one skill—even in the age of AI,” Marc-Oliver explains. “And many students lack access to the expert feedback they need.”
This human-centred mission has resonated beyond Europe. Currently, Nigeria leads all African nations in Thesify usage over the past three months. “We also see strong usage in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, and several Central African states,” Gewaltig noted. With a free plan available, Thesify is becoming a powerful resource for academic support in regions where quality education is not always accessible.
While academia is the platform’s primary market, Marc-Oliver identifies clear opportunities for expansion. “Legal, tax, content marketing, and internal corporate documentation are all areas where our tool is starting to attract interest,” he says. However, one thing remains constant across industries: people don’t just want content—they want clarity and purpose.
When discussing the responsible use of AI, Marc-Oliver is direct. “If you let AI do everything, you’re no longer part of the intellectual process,” he warns. “It’s like going to the gym with a forklift. You’re skipping the work and missing the point.”
Thesify is not just about writing; it’s also built for discovery and development. It helps users identify relevant journals and conferences and summarises open-access research through a feature called “paper digest.”
Marc-Oliver’s key advice for new founders: “Start in a niche. Don’t try to conquer the world with your first product—small fish don’t survive in the ocean. And from day one, you need a customer. Build with someone, not just for them.”
As AI reshapes how we learn and create, Thesify insists that technology should amplify—not replace—human effort. It’s a vision rooted in growth, equity, and the pursuit of better writing, one paragraph at a time.
Want to explore Thesify? Visit: https://www.thesify.ai/
