Workflow automation startup Relay is shutting down access for paying customers on September 14, while its founder and CEO Jacob Bank joins Google’s Chrome team as Vice President of Product. The app’s closure follows an earlier shutdown of its free tier in August, marking another acquisition in a crowded automation market.
Another AI automation startup is winding down operations as its core leadership heads to Big Tech. Relay, an automation platform launched in 2021 with the goal of becoming the new Zapier, is closing its doors. Rather than raising another funding round in an increasingly crowded market, the company’s founder and select staff accepted positions inside Google’s Chrome division.
The Timeline for Relay’s Shutdown and Customer Migration
The winding down of the platform leaves paying subscribers with a compressed timeline to salvage their setups. Free customers lost access to the platform on August 15, while paying accounts remain active until September 14. The app’s closure was initially announced by the company in July.
The abrupt transition creates familiar migration risks for businesses that relied on the service to streamline repetitive office tasks. Relay’s software helped companies handle workflow automation without requiring deep technical knowledge, managing everything from document drafting and copyediting to various project management processes. Without detailed transition support from the shuttering startup, businesses are left to extract their workflows and scramble for replacement solutions independently.
Jacob Bank’s Return to Google and New Chrome Role
For Relay founder and CEO Jacob Bank, the move marks a return to Google after a previous stint at the search giant. Bank previously spent a little over six years at Google following the 2015 acquisition of his earlier scheduling startup, Timeful. During his first tenure at Google, he worked as a product lead for Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Chat before leaving to launch Relay.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bank will take on the role of Vice President of Product for Google Chrome. In this position, he will lead the product and developer relations teams for the browser. Reflecting on the transition in a post on X, Bank noted his long-term career focus.
He added that joining the Chrome team is an ideal opportunity to bring those experiences to many, many more people
, noting that the company has some really ambitious plans to help you work with AI in Chrome to get things done
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Consolidation Pressures in the AI Automation Sector
Relay’s exit highlights a broader pattern across the tech industry, where foundational model developers and platform giants increasingly absorb promising startups rather than letting them compete as independent point solutions. The automation sector has faced intense competitive pressure as foundational AI models commoditize capabilities that once gave startups a distinct edge. When tech giants can bake similar automation features directly into operating systems and browsers for free, the path to independent scale narrows significantly.
For big tech acquirers, these quiet acqui-hires secure experienced builders who understand the messy realities of enterprise AI integration. Standalone startups face a brutal choice in the current market climate: raise additional capital to fight platform giants, sell while the team holds valuation, or risk obsolescence.
Future AI Integration Plans for Google Chrome
Google’s browser is evolving far beyond a simple window for viewing web pages. The Chrome division has increasingly become a platform for web-based productivity, especially as Google pushes deeper into enterprise tools to compete with Microsoft’s Copilot strategy. Artificial intelligence is already present in the browser through Gemini, which serves as an optional in-browser assistant.
Google recently reported that Gemini had crested 1 billion users across its various integrations. Integrating Relay’s workflow automation expertise could allow Google to build tighter task management directly into the browser. Bank has already pointed toward this direction, calling Chrome a perfect place to collaborate with agents
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What to Watch Next as Paid Access Ends
The immediate deadline to watch is September 14, when paid access to Relay officially ceases and remaining customers must complete their migration to alternative workflow tools.
