This time it’s Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, who has acquired Clay, a New York-based relationship management startup. Clay’s co-founders, Matthew Achariam and Zachary Hamed, will join Automattic’s Other Bets division with the deal. This division is home to other rad projects such as Beeper and Gravatar. This acquisition continues Automattic’s aggressive growth through acquisition, now over two dozen and counting.

Clay, which was started in 2019 by Matthew Achariam and Zachary Hamed, is reimagining how to manage relationships. Their new, all-in-one, AI-driven platform makes it easy for users. Both Achariam and Hamed served as co-CEOs. It has now raised $8 million in venture funding, including a seed round from 2021.

Funding and Investment

Clay received a strong response from venture capital firms, landing $8 million in funding. Forerunner Ventures also led Clay’s 2021 seed round, sending an unequivocal signal of confidence in Clay’s vision and technology.

A number of other well-known investors joined the seed round, too. These were all very small funds, General Catalyst, Slow Ventures, Caffeinated Capital and Notation Capital. Their combined investment is a testament to the continued, wide ranging attractiveness and potential of Clay’s new approach to relationship management.

That flood of capital helped to power Clay’s platform development. It gave the company a way to rapidly grow its presence in the mainstream, cutthroat CRM market. This support from top-tier venture capital firms afforded Clay the benefit of valuable resources and expertise to scale quickly and grow efficiently.

Joining Automattic

The deal by Automattic’s acquisition is not only a big payday for Clay himself. Co-founders Hamed and Achariam will be moving to Automattic’s Other Bets division. You don’t want to miss them as they share their deep experience building cool stuff such as Beeper and Gravatar.

The platform offers unique value through AI-driven insights, comprehensive coverage, revolutionary search, instant notes and more, all designed to simplify the way we build and maintain relationships … By bringing Clay into the Automattic family, we can explore its relationship-focused approach and integrate it across our messaging ecosystem. - Automattic

Furthermore, this acquisition fits with Automattic’s long-term strategy of extending its capabilities via smart acquisitions. By incorporating Clay's technology and talent, Automattic aims to enhance its messaging ecosystem and explore new approaches to relationship management.

Automattic's Expanding Portfolio

Automattic has a history of acquiring companies to strengthen its suite of products. In the name of that vision, the company has completed more than two dozen acquisitions to date. More importantly, it purposefully cultivates cutting edge technologies and visionary expertise artfully within its ranks.

The Other Bets division, which Clay will now oversee, is the home to the company’s most experimental and future-looking work. Beeper | Gravatar Beeper is a unique universal chat app Gravatar is an open standards globally recognized avatar service Incorporating them into this division further proves Automattic’s dedication to building and experimenting in different spaces of technology.

This latest acquisition of Clay continues to establish Automattic’s budding empire as the most influential private company on the digital landscape. Through smart, strategic portfolio expansion, Automattic is able to stay one step ahead, adapt to their user’s needs and continue to innovate.