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Relay, an artificial intelligence-powered automation platform founded in 2021, is ceasing operations with customer access ending on September 14. The startup, which aimed to compete with established workflow automation services, is winding down after several years of operation.
The company’s leadership is transitioning to new opportunities at Google. Jacob Bank, who established and led Relay as chief executive, will rejoin Google as vice president of product for Chrome, where he will oversee product strategy and developer relations. Bank previously worked at Google for six years before launching Relay, having also sold a scheduling application called Timeful to the tech giant in 2015.
Relay provided businesses with automation capabilities designed to reduce manual work on tasks such as document creation and project coordination. Bank indicated that his move to Chrome represents a continuation of his professional focus. “I’ve spent my whole career doing one thing: building tools that help people get more done with AI, without sacrificing their personal creativity or insights,” he stated on social media, adding that Chrome represents “a perfect place to collaborate with agents.”
The shutdown reflects Google’s broader strategy of integrating artificial intelligence throughout its products. The company has already incorporated its Gemini AI assistant into Chrome and search, with the technology reaching one billion users recently.
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Originally reported by Techcrunch →
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