Adobe has acquired Indian AI workflow automation startup Rilo, a deal that brings agentic marketing capabilities into Adobe's enterprise software suite. The acquisition, disclosed by Rilo's founders on LinkedIn, is Adobe's second known purchase of an Indian AI startup, following its 2023 acquisition of video creation platform Rephrase.ai.
Rilo built a platform that lets teams create and run multi-step workflows using natural-language instructions. The technology evolved from a general-purpose automation tool into a focused offering for marketing and go-to-market teams, where AI agents handle competitive intelligence, prospecting, LinkedIn outreach, Reddit marketing, social content, and campaign research.
What Rilo brings to Adobe's stack
Founded in 2025 by IIT Bombay batchmates Dhruv Jaglan and Georgi Boby, Rilo attracted more than 10,000 users within months of launch. The startup was backed by Peak XV Partners, DeVC, and Day Zero Ventures, and had raised funding at a reported valuation of $10 million.
Jaglan, Rilo's co-founder and CEO, said the company was "joining Adobe to help bring AI to Fortune 500 marketers." Boby added that the acquisition would allow the startup's mission - extending AI for Marketing beyond engineering teams - to continue at a larger scale.
Rahul Gupta, managing partner at Day Zero Ventures, said Rilo's workflow builder was ahead of its time and could help Adobe improve customer experience and productivity. The platform's core pitch was enabling what Rilo called "AI employees" - agents capable of executing tasks across multiple tools without manual intervention.
Adobe's agentic push intensifies
The acquisition arrives as Adobe faces mounting competition from Canva and AI companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Businesses are increasingly deploying AI Agents & Automation to handle complex activities including content creation and personalized customer experiences.
In April, Adobe unveiled Adobe CX Enterprise, positioning it as an end-to-end agentic AI system for managing the full customer lifecycle - from acquisition and engagement through to conversion and loyalty. Rilo's workflow automation capabilities slot directly into that strategy, particularly for teams that need to automate multi-step marketing processes using AI agents.
Why this matters for marketing professionals
Rilo's technology signals where marketing automation is headed: away from rigid, template-based sequences and toward AI agents that interpret natural-language instructions to execute complex workflows. For marketers managing competitive intelligence, prospecting, and multi-channel campaigns, this means less time configuring tools and more time on strategy. The acquisition also shows that major enterprise platforms see agentic AI as the next front in marketing software - not a feature to bolt on later, but infrastructure to acquire now.
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