Superhuman is expanding its suite of AI tools by purchasing Y Combinator-backed Fathom, choosing to acquire an established notetaker rather than developing the technology in-house.
Since its founding in 2020, Fathom has successfully raised more than $30 million in funding and reached a valuation of $94 million as of 2024, as reported by PitchBook. Significant investors in the company include the Zoom Apps Fund, Telescope Partners, BoxOne Ventures, and Maven Ventures. Additionally, notable figures like Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, and Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt hold stakes in the startup.
The service features a generous free tier that has attracted over 400,000 monthly active users, with the company reporting that more than one million individuals have utilized the recording feature to date.
According to TechCrunch, Superhuman previously tested a notetaker internally with a select group of users. However, the company ultimately opted to acquire a finished product to seamlessly integrate into its ecosystem, placing artificial intelligence at the core of the strategy. Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Superhuman, confirmed this decision, explaining that the internal testing process highlighted the significant difficulty involved in developing a high-quality notetaker.
“We’ve been working internally on this area for a while as well,” Mehrotra stated during a call with TechCrunch. He noted that the internal efforts significantly increased the company’s confidence in the market demand for such tools. Furthermore, the process illuminated how complex the landscape is and the substantial engineering required to excel in all aspects of meeting recording. “A lot of these products make the job feel really easy, but it’s actually quite tricky to do a great job in all parts,” he added.
Mehrotra expressed admiration for the technical sophistication developed by the Fathom team, although he did not specify which aspects impressed him most. He did, however, hint that incorporating a notetaker will allow Superhuman to better surface meeting context in real time.
The market for meeting notetakers is fiercely competitive, with startups like Granola, Read AI, and the new entrant Wispr securing millions in funding. As venture-backed companies face pressure to offer more than just basic recording and transcription, Superhuman’s acquisition of Fathom addresses these market dynamics. Fathom CEO Richard White highlighted the strategic advantage, noting that Superhuman’s massive 40 million user base provides an excellent opportunity to scale the product.
“The reach of Superhuman is massive,” White remarked. He views mergers and acquisitions as a strategy for speed, particularly regarding distribution. “If we were to operate Fathom as a standalone company, we would have to build a lot of things that are already in the Superhuman platform,” he explained.
Superhuman already offers a comprehensive suite including an email client, a document editor, a calendar, a database solution, and a newly launched AI agent builder platform. By integrating a meeting notetaker, the company aims to create a more cohesive workflow where the AI can draft emails, update data entries, schedule follow-up meetings, and initiate work based on insights extracted from meeting transcripts.
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