What Superhuman’s CTO thinks software needs now

This article summarizes an episode of Venture Capital’s video series featuring Loïc Houssier, CTO of Superhuman.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Grammarly recently acquired Superhuman, the email efficiency tool founded by Rahul Vohra, Vivek Sodera, and Conrad Irwin. The company has raised over over US$114 million from backers like a16z and Tiger Global, with a last valuation of US$825 million.

Following the acquisition, we talked with Loïc Houssier, the company’s chief technology officer. He shared his thoughts on what is changing software today, from the strategic reasons for the deal to how AI is redefining what it means to be a good engineer.

Beyond the brand name

Many saw the acquisition as just a marketing move, but it was a strategic decision that started with the name. The two companies were looking for a common starting point.

A name with room to grow
The two brand names seem very different. Grammarly is specific, while Superhuman is broad. Houssier points out that this difference was a factor in the reason for the acquisition.

Houssier explains, “[The name Superhuman is] versatile. There’s a lot you can do with it compared to Grammarly, which was pretty much too narrow in terms of semantics. So it just makes sense.”

More than a name swap
While the brand’s potential was a big reason for the deal, Houssier says it was about more than that. The teams and how they build products had to fit together.

Houssier notes, “It’s not just a brand acquisition. It’s clearly a product, market, engineering culture, and product culture acquisition. So it’s full-fledged.”

The advantage is the user’s workflow

The fit between the companies came from a shared focus on the user’s workflow. For both companies, the strategy is to avoid interrupting a person’s work.

A guiding idea
At Superhuman, being helpful without getting in the way guided every design decision from the start, long before any acquisition was on the table.

Houssier says, “One of the principles from a design standpoint from Rahul, the founder, was to not get into your flow…Understand the flow, understand how people are working, and make that flow as smooth as possible.”

A familiar approach
This idea was also the reason for Grammarly’s success. Houssier saw that both companies designed their products in the same way.

Houssier adds, “Grammarly was where you work. They didn’t ask you to copy-paste somewhere else and get away from your flow… Every step outside of your flow is friction.”

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