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Thoma Bravo to Acquire Restaurant Tech Firm Olo in $2 Billion All-Cash Deal

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Buyout firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire Olo, a provider of digital ordering and payment solutions for restaurants, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. The deal offers Olo shareholders $10.25 per share, representing a 65% premium over the stock’s closing price on April 30, before sale rumors emerged. Olo’s shares rose more than 13% in early trading following the announcement.

Founded in 2005 and based in New York, Olo serves over 750 restaurant brands across 88,000 locations worldwide, including chains like Denny’s, P.F. Chang’s, Nando’s, and Cold Stone Creamery. The company became privately held after the acquisition, which is expected to enhance its growth by strengthening its platform and offerings.

Olo has undergone workforce reductions in recent years, cutting about 9% of its employees last year following an 11% reduction in 2023. Despite earlier losses, the company improved profitability with a net income of $1.81 million in the first quarter of 2025. As of December 2024, Olo employed 617 staff in the U.S.

Thoma Bravo, a major software-focused investment firm managing roughly $184 billion in assets, expects to finalize the acquisition by the end of 2025. Olo faces a termination fee of $73.7 million in cash if the deal falls through under specific conditions. Goldman Sachs is serving as Olo’s exclusive financial adviser.

Grammarly to Acquire Email Startup Superhuman in Strategic AI Expansion

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Grammarly has announced an agreement to acquire Superhuman, an email efficiency startup, as part of its broader strategy to build an AI-powered productivity platform and diversify its business offerings, company executives told Reuters. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Superhuman, known for its exclusive email tool and a lengthy waitlist for new users, was last valued at $825 million in 2021 and currently generates about $35 million in annual revenue. The San Francisco-based company is recognized for integrating AI features aimed at enhancing email productivity, with users reportedly sending and responding to 72% more emails per hour. The use of AI tools for composing emails on the platform has increased fivefold over the past year.

Grammarly, which recently secured $1 billion in funding from General Catalyst, has more than 40 million daily users and annual revenue exceeding $700 million. Founded in 2009, Grammarly is evolving beyond grammar correction and is considering a rebrand to reflect its expanded ambitions.

The acquisition of Superhuman follows Grammarly’s 2023 purchase of Coda, a startup that added AI-powered research, analysis, and collaboration tools to its suite. CEO Shishir Mehrotra described email as the next logical focus, noting that professionals spend roughly three hours a day in their inboxes, making email a critical communication and productivity tool.

Superhuman’s CEO Rahul Vohra will join Grammarly, along with over 100 Superhuman employees. Mehrotra emphasized that the Superhuman product, team, and brand will remain intact, continuing to serve tens of thousands of users. Vohra expressed optimism that the acquisition will provide Superhuman with greater resources to invest heavily in AI and expand into related areas such as calendars, tasks, and collaboration features.

Both leaders envision integrating Grammarly’s AI agents directly into Superhuman, creating a network of specialized AI tools that streamline workflows by pulling data from emails, documents, and other digital sources. This integration aims to reduce time spent searching for information or drafting responses.

Grammarly and Superhuman will join a competitive market for AI productivity tools, contending with established tech giants like Salesforce and numerous startups.

Japan’s TDK Acquires U.S. Smart Glasses Company SoftEye

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Japanese electronics manufacturer TDK announced on Thursday it has acquired SoftEye, a U.S.-based company specializing in software and hardware for smart glasses. This acquisition supports TDK’s strategy to find new growth drivers linked to artificial intelligence (AI).

SoftEye, headquartered in San Diego, California, develops eye-tracking and object recognition technologies. Its founder and CEO, Te-Won Lee, has previously held executive roles at Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm.

According to a source familiar with the deal, the acquisition is valued at under $100 million.

Tech companies are increasingly investing in hardware beyond smartphones, with smart glasses gaining attention. Facebook owner Meta and others are focusing on AI-powered smart glasses to enhance user interaction with their environment. Social media company Snap plans to launch consumer smart glasses next year, and Alphabet’s Google recently showcased smart glasses at its developer conference. Chipmaker Qualcomm also unveiled a smart glasses processor this month.

TDK, once famous for its cassette tapes, now plays a key role in electronics by supplying components and batteries for smart glasses.