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Artificial intelligence • Cloud computing • M&A

AI Spurs More Unicorn Acquisitions As Clio, Grammarly Make M&A Deals

M&A - Illustration of a magnet attracting various products. [Dom Guzman]

This has been a busy week for unicorns making acquisitions.

On July 1, Canada-based legal software company revealed its plans to acquire Spain’s from for $1 billion. And, — which has been on a buying spree as of late — announced its intent to acquire , an AI-native email app.

Clio plans to use cash and stock to fund its purchase of vLex. In , Clio CEO said the buy is an example of Clio “laying the foundation for the first and only cloud-based, AI-powered platform that seamlessly connects the business and practice of law.�

Founded in 2008, Clio in the past described itself as “the operating system for law firms.� Its software helps law firms automate processes such as client intake, accounting and document management, among other things. It was valued at $3 billion in July 2024 when it raised $900 million in a Series F funding round led by .

As Clio faces greater competition from the likes of 3-year-old startup , which in June raised at a $5 billion valuation, it is clearly trying to get ahead in the legaltech AI race. In his blog post, Newton said: “Now, with our acquisition of vLex, we’re bringing even more to Clio, including extensive legal research and the industry-leading AI known as Vincent.�

Per °µÍø³Ô¹Ï data, Clio’s planned purchase of vLex so far in 2025 so far.

Grammarly makes another move

For its part, San Francisco-based Grammarly said its purchase of Superhuman is “part of the company’s move to become an AI productivity suite.� According to a spokesperson, with the acquisition Grammarly “is bringing agentic AI directly to the inbox.�  It follows the company’s January acquisition of , a maker of AI productivity tools.

In a statement, Grammarly CEO , said the buys are in line with the company’s plans to bring AI “directly to users everywhere they work.�

He added: “Email isn’t just another app; it’s where professionals spend significant portions of their day, and it’s the perfect staging ground for orchestrating multiple AI agents simultaneously.�

The purchase shouldn’t come as a big surprise. When Grammarly announced in late May that it had secured $1 billion in funding from longtime investor , the company said it planned to use its new capital “to scale sales and marketing and for strategic acquisitions.�

When it comes to other unicorns making acquisitions in 2025, the three largest deals involved AI companies so far this year are:

  • in a deal that valued at $33 billion;
  • for $6.5 billion; and
  • for $3 billion.

Overall, there have been 181 acquisitions announced by unicorns in 2025, according to °µÍø³Ô¹Ï data.

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