OpenAI acquires Convogo team to accelerate AI cloud efforts in ninth deal this year

OpenAI to acquire the team behind executive coaching AI tool Convogo | TechCrunch

OpenAI is kicking off the new year with yet another acqui-hire. The AI giant is acquiring the team behind Convogo, a business software platform that helps executive coaches, consultants, talent leaders and HR teams automate and improve leadership assessments and feedback reporting. An OpenAI spokesperson said the company is not acquiring Convogo's IP or technology, but rather hiring the team to work on its "AI cloud efforts." The three co-founders - Matt Cooper, Evan Cater, and Mike Gillett - will join OpenAI as part of what a source familiar with the matter called an all-stock deal. Convogo's product will be wound down. The startup began as a "weekend hackathon" sparked by a question by Cooper's mother, who is an executive coach: could an AI tool automate the drudgery of report writing so she could spend more time on the human coaching work she loves? Over the past two years, Convogo has helped "thousands" of coaches and partnered with the "world's top leadership development firms," per an email bearing news of the acquisition sent by Convogo. In the email, the team wrote that the real problem they uncovered in their work is how to bridge the gap between what is possible with each new model release and how to translate that into real world outcomes. "We're convinced now more than ever that the key to bridging that gap lies in thoughtful, purpose-built experiences, like what we've built for coaches at Convogo," the founders wrote. "That's why we're thrilled to join OpenAI to continue our work of making AI accessible and useful to professionals in every industry." The Convogo acqui-hire marks OpenAI's ninth acquisition in the span of a year, per PitchBook data. In nearly all of those acquisitions, the product was either folded into OpenAI's ecosystem - as in the case of Sky, the AI interface for Mac, or Statsig, a product testing firm - or completely shut down as the team joined OpenAI - as in the cases of Roi, Context.ai, and Crossing Minds. The Convogo deal also signals that OpenAI, like its competitors, is using M&A as a talent and capability accelerator. The main exception to that rule is OpenAI's acquisition of Jonny Ive's io Products, which is continuing its product roadmap as the two companies work together to create a piece of AI hardware.

OpenAI Hires Co-Founders of AI-Powered Tool Convogo | PYMNTS.com

The three new hires will work on OpenAI's "AI cloud efforts," while Convogo's product will be wound down, according to the report. Neither Convogo nor OpenAI immediately replied to PYMNTS' request for comment. Cooper announced in a Thursday post on LinkedIn, which was reposted by Cater and Gillett, that "the Convogo team is joining OpenAI." According to the post, Convogo has helped thousands of executive coaches over the past two years by automating report writing. At the same time, the co-founders saw that while AI is continually getting more intelligent, it needs the right tooling to translate that into real outcomes. "We're convinced now more than ever that the key to bridging that gap lies in thoughtful, purpose-built experiences, like what we've built for coaches at Convogo," Cooper wrote in the post. "That's why we're thrilled to join OpenAI to continue our work of making AI accessible and useful to professionals in every industry." According to the TechCrunch report, OpenAI has made nine acquisitions over the past year. They include Sky and Statsig, whose products were folded into OpenAI's ecosystem; Roi, Context.ai and Crossing Minds, whose products were shut down when the teams joined the AI startup; and Jony Ive's iO Products, which is working with OpenAI to develop AI hardware. It was reported in May that OpenAI acquired iO Products for just under $6.5 billion and that the firm would become the devices division of OpenAI. When OpenAI bought Roi in October, Roi's co-founder/CEO said: "This acquisition marks an incredible milestone for Roi, and we're thrilled to continue building out our vision at OpenAI." It was reported in October that OpenAI acquired Software Applications, an AI startup founded by former Apple engineers who helped build the iPhone's Shortcuts app, and that this deal would strengthen OpenAI's effort to make ChatGPT more interactive by integrating it directly with users' computers.

OpenAI Hires Convogo Founders, Shuts Product in Talent-First Deal

OpenAI Brings Convogo Founding Team Onboard as It Doubles Down on AI Cloud Strategy OpenAI is doubling down on hiring specialized talent as it scales its technology ecosystem. The ChatGPT-maker is reportedly onboarding the founding team of Convogo, a startup focused on automating leadership assessments and feedback reporting for executive coaches and HR professionals. The move follows a pattern OpenAI has adopted over the past year bringing in teams rather than products to accelerate work on core infrastructure.

OpenAI brings AI startup founders on board for AI cloud initiative: All we know

Convogo is a startup focused on automating leadership assessments and feedback reporting for executive coaches and HR professionals. OpenAI has been aggressive in terms of hiring and acquiring the startups to develop the technology ecosystem. The ChatGPT-maker is now reportedly planning to onboard the team behind Convogo, a startup focused on automating leadership assessments and feedback reporting for executive coaches and HR professionals. The company has confirmed that it is not purchasing the Convogo's underlying product or intellectual property, but is hiring the three member founding team which includes Matt Cooper, Evan Cater and Mike Gillett. As per the reports, the team will join the company to work on its AI Cloud initiatives. And the deal was structured as an all stock transaction, as per the report citing familiar sources. As part of the move, Convogo's product will be discontinued. The startup, which originated from a small side project, was built to reduce the time coaches spend writing detailed reports, allowing them to focus more on direct human engagement. Over the past two years, Convogo said it worked with thousands of coaches and partnered with several major leadership development firms. Also read: After OpenAI, Microsoft adds Copilot Checkout to turn Copilot into an AI shopping assistant As per the report, a note has been shared with the users where Convogo's founders said their experience highlighted a broader challenge in the AI space, translating rapid advances in model capabilities into practical, real-world tools. They added that joining OpenAI would allow them to continue this work at a much larger scale. Interestingly, this is OpenAI's ninth acquisition in a year, as per PitchBook data. In most of these transactions, OpenAI has either absorbed the acquired teams into its broader operations or shut down the original products entirely, as seen with companies such as Context.ai and Crossing Minds. In a few cases, select products have been integrated into OpenAI's ecosystem. Not only that, OpenAI is also exploring partnerships as well. The company has partnered with former Apple design chief Jony Ive's hardware venture, which is continuing product development independently.