Grammarly Acquires Startup Email Superhuman To Push AI Platform

JAKARTA - Grammarly officially acquired Superhuman, an email efficiency tool startup, as part of a strategic expansion to build a series of artificial intelligence-based productivity products (AI). This step marks the company's efforts to expand its business reach outside the grammar correction service.

The two San Francisco-based technology companies declined to disclose the acquisition value. However, Superhuman previously had a valuation of US$825 million in 2021, with current annual revenues of around US$35 million (around Rp571.55 billion).

This acquisition came after Grammarly received fresh funding of US$1 billion (Rp16.3 trillion) from General Catalyst. The funds will be used to create a wider AI-based work equipment ecosystem.

Founded in 2005, Grammarly now has more than 40 million daily active users and recorded annual revenues of more than $700 million. The company is also considering changing its name as part of a business transformation strategy.

Superhumans themselves have raised more than 110 million US dollars from large investors such as IVP and Andreessen Horowitz. Known for its speed, Superhuman claims its users can send and reply to 72% more emails per hour.

The use of AI features in email writing has also increased fivefold in the past year. However, the company also has to compete with giants like Google and Microsoft which further strengthen AI capabilities in their email services.

Email is still the main communication tool globally. Professionals spend about three hours every day in their inbox. This is the most frequently used work application and is very important for every series of productivity, "said cap Mehr Mehrtra, CEO of Grammarly. Superhuman is clearly the leading innovator in this field.

The move follows last year's Grammarly acquisition of Coda startup, which allows AI agents to integrate for research, analysis, and collaboration. Mehrotra, co-founder of Coda, called email the next logical step in developing the AI productivity ecosystem.

Superhuman CEO Rahul Vohra, along with more than 100 Superhuman employees will join Grammarly. "Produk, team, and brand Superhuman will continue," said Mehrotra. This is a product that has been used by tens of thousands of users and we want them to continue to grow."

Vohra added that the deal would open up access to larger resources, allow Superhuman to invest deeper in AI development, as well as expand product coverage to calendars, tasks, and collaborations.

Both saw great opportunities to integrate Grammarly AI agents directly into Superhuman, and create more advanced productivity tools for enterprise customers. Their vision is to build a network of special AI agents that can draw information from email, documents, and various digital workflows, thus saving users' time.

However, Grammarly will also face stiff competition in the AI productivity market, from giant companies such as Salesforce to new startups competing to introduce similar solutions.