HubSpot just scooped up a Chicago startup that creates artificial intelligence chatbots for businesses.
The publicly traded company announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Motion AI, a software startup that launched in 2015 that makes it easy for brands to launch their own chatbot service. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This marks HubSpot's third acquisition of an AI startup after buying Kemvi and Evolve earlier this year. The company has recently signaled that machine learning and artificial intelligence are a big part of its future.
As part of the deal, Motion AI will join the HubSpot team, and its technology will be incorporated into the HubSpot platform over the next several months, the company said.
Motion AI's technology allows companies to create a chatbot on their website, through SMS, Facebook Messenger, or Slack. Cambridge-based HubSpot was a Motion AI customer before the acquisition.
Originally launched on Product Hunt in November 2015, Motion AI has facilitated more than 40 million total messages since May 2016, and has built over 80,000 bots to date.
Motion AI raised just $700,000 in outside funding from investors such as New York-based Crush Ventures and Chicago's Hyde Park Angels.
"Motion AI was born out of the idea that anyone, regardless of their level of tech knowledge, should be able to build a chatbot. We believe that this aligns well with HubSpot's mission of creating technology that helps businesses address and adapt to the latest trends," David Nelson, founder and CEO of Motion AI, said in a statement. "We're excited to be joining the HubSpot team, and can't wait to get to work on some really innovative AI tools."
Additional reporting by Dylan Martin.
