Adobe acquired Indian AI startup ‘Reelo’:To build plain-language workflow tools, started by Dhruv-Georgie

American tech giant Adobe has acquired this 11-month-old Indian startup. This is Adobe’s second notable deal in India. Prior to this, in 2023, it acquired the generative AI video company Rephrase.ai. However, neither Adobe nor Reelo has disclosed the financial details of the new deal yet. Reelo was started in September 2023 by IIT Bombay batchmates Dhruv Jaglan and Georgie Bobby. Initially, it was a tool for creating complex workflows from instructions written in plain language, which could build AI agents capable of working across hundreds of tools even for non-technical users.
Gradually, it transformed into an “AI employee” platform for marketing and GTM (go-to-market) teams. The GTM team is responsible for launching a company’s product or service into the market and delivering it to customers. Meanwhile, Reelo handled tasks such as competitive analysis, prospecting, LinkedIn outreach, Reddit marketing, and campaign research, even becoming an early competitor to Anthropic’s Claude. Its popularity grew so rapidly that within months of its launch, Reelo had added over 10,000 users. Following the deal, co-founder Dhruv Jaglan wrote in a social media post, “Reelo will now join Adobe to help bring AI to Fortune 500 marketers.” Acquired ready-made team The strategy behind the deal is clear-the race for agentic AI marketing has intensified; Anthropic has already launched its ‘Claude for Marketers,’ and Adobe itself launched its agentic system, CX Enterprise, in April. In such a scenario, rather than spending years developing the technology in-house, Adobe found it better to directly acquire a ready-made, fast-growing team and product.
Additionally, it gained affordable and quick access to young AI talent from institutions like the IITs. Reelo, which had secured funding at a valuation of Rs 945 crore, did not disclose the deal amount. Reelo had previously received funding from investors like Peak XV, G47/DVC, and Day Zero Ventures at a valuation of approximately ₹945 crore. According to people associated with this startup, the deal has been structured as technology licensing and the onboarding of a 6-member team into Adobe, rather than an acquisition of the entire company. This adds to Adobe’s long list of marketing-AI acquisitions.
Last year, the company had a similar deal with Semrush for ₹17,958 crore.