Borya Shakhnovich

Borya Shakhnovich is an American entrepreneur and CEO who co-founded airSlate, a no-code workflow automation platform that achieved unicorn status with a $1.25 billion valuation in 2022.^[1] The company serves over 100 million users globally and has raised $185.3 million in total funding.^[2]

Shakhnovich transitioned from academia to entrepreneurship, holding research positions at Boston University and Harvard University before founding multiple technology companies.^[4] He was named Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 New England Award Winner for his leadership in scaling airSlate to category leadership in workflow automation.^[2]

Prior to airSlate, Shakhnovich served as CEO of PDFfiller from 2012 to 2018, expanding the PDF editing platform's user base and service offerings before rebranding the company as airSlate.^[5] He previously founded Orwick, an online community for scientific research, from 2008 to 2012.^[7]

Shakhnovich earned a Bachelor of Science in Computational Biophysics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1997 to 2001.^[4] He completed a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics at Boston University from 2001 to 2005, focusing on genetic structures and evolutionary models.^[4]

Following his doctoral studies, Shakhnovich pursued academic research as an Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics at Boston University from 2004 to 2006, then as a Post-Doc Fellow in Systems Biology at Harvard University from 2006 to 2008.^[4] His academic background in genetic evolution models later influenced his approach to business strategy and product development.^[6]

Orwick (2008–2012)

In 2008, Shakhnovich founded Orwick, an online community platform designed for scientific research collaboration.^[7] The venture marked his transition from academia to entrepreneurship, applying his research background to create digital tools for the scientific community.^[4]

PDFfiller (2012–2018)

Shakhnovich joined PDFfiller as CEO in 2012, leading the PDF editing and form-filling platform through significant expansion.^[5] Under his leadership, the company broadened its user base and service offerings, establishing the foundation for what would become airSlate.^[5] The platform evolved from a simple PDF editing tool into a comprehensive document workflow solution during his tenure.^[8]

airSlate (2018–present)

In 2018, Shakhnovich co-founded airSlate by rebranding and expanding PDFfiller into a comprehensive no-code workflow automation platform.^[1] The company achieved unicorn status in 2022 with a $1.25 billion valuation following a funding round that included investment from UiPath Ventures.^[1]

airSlate serves over 100 million users globally and has raised $185.3 million in total funding across multiple rounds.^[2] The platform enables businesses to automate workflows without coding, integrating electronic signatures, document management, and process automation tools.^[3] In 2022, the company announced plans to hire 400 new employees to support continued growth.^[3]

In 2022, Ernst & Young named Shakhnovich the Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 New England Award Winner, recognizing his leadership in scaling airSlate to unicorn status and category leadership in workflow automation.^[2] The award acknowledges entrepreneurs who demonstrate unique leadership attributes and drive innovation in their respective industries.^[2]