AI automation startup Relay shuts down; team joins Google Chrome
Original: AI automation startup Relay shuts down, staff joins Google’s Chrome team
Why This Matters
Relay's talent acquisition signals Google's accelerating push to embed agentic AI capabilities directly into Chrome.
AI workflow automation startup Relay is shutting down, with paid customer access ending September 14, 2026. Founder and CEO Jacob Bank will rejoin Google as VP of Product for Chrome, leading product and developer relations teams, after previously working at Google for over six years.
Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation tool launched in 2021 and positioned as a next-generation alternative to Zapier, is officially shutting down. Founder and CEO Jacob Bank announced Monday that paying customers will lose access on September 14, 2026, while free-tier users lost access on August 15. The closure was initially announced in July 2026.
Bank, who first joined Google in 2015 following the acquisition of his scheduling startup Timeful, previously served as product lead for Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Chat before leaving to found Relay. He will now return to Google as VP of Product for Chrome, where he will oversee product and developer relations teams.
"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," Bank wrote on X. He described Chrome as "a perfect place to collaborate with agents" and hinted at "ambitious plans" for AI integration, with more details to come.
The move aligns with Google's broader AI push. Gemini has been integrated into both Google Search and Chrome as an optional in-browser assistant. Google recently reported that Gemini has surpassed 1 billion users.