Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation startup, is winding down, according to TechCrunch. The company’s founder and CEO, Jacob Bank, is set to rejoin Google as VP of Product for Google Chrome, where TechCrunch reports he will lead product and developer relations teams, citing his LinkedIn profile. The shutdown is now on a near-term customer clock. TechCrunch reports that free Relay users lost access on August 15, while paying customers are scheduled to lose access on September 14. The outlet says Relay’s closure was first announced in July, with Bank sharing a company announcement on Monday. Relay launched in 2021 with an ambition TechCrunch describes as becoming a new Zapier. Its product focused on workflow automation for businesses, including repetitive tasks such as document drafting, copyediting and project-management work. This is not reported as an acquisition. The facts in the cluster are narrower: Relay is shutting down, and some staff — including Bank — are moving to Google’s Chrome team. TechCrunch says it contacted Google and Relay for more information. Bank previously worked at Google after the search company acquired his earlier scheduling startup, Timeful, in 2015, according to TechCrunch. During that earlier Google tenure, he worked across Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Chat before leaving to start Relay. The Chrome angle is the strategic part of the move, but the details remain thin. TechCrunch reports that Bank has said Chrome has ambitious AI plans and called the browser a suitable place to work with agents, while also noting that Gemini is already available in Chrome as an optional in-browser assistant. For now, the confirmed change is organizational rather than product-specific: a small AI automation company is closing, and its CEO is moving into a senior Chrome role. Any specific new AI features in Chrome have not yet been detailed in the provided reporting. Who benefits: Google gains Bank and some Relay staff with experience in workflow automation and productivity software. Relay customers do not gain continuity from the reported shutdown unless they have already migrated elsewhere, which is not addressed in the source material. Who's exposed: Relay’s free and paying customers are directly exposed because access is ending on separate August and September dates. Beyond that, the source material does not establish broader market impact.