Grammarly to Acquire Email Startup Superhuman in Strategic AI Expansion
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.
