Dutch AI research lab Utopian Labs gets acquired by Zapier

Zapier has acquired Netherlands-based research group Utopian Labs to support its AI roadmap.

Utopian Labs, a research group based in the Netherlands, has been acquired by Zapier, a San Francisco-based AI orchestration platform. Under the deal finalised in October 2025, the Dutch company wound down its operations on November 15.

Bryan Helmig, Zapier co-founder and CTO, mentions, “Steven and Robin (co-founders of Utopian Labs) have been ahead of the curve on building AI that actually works for people. We’re thrilled to have them join Zapier as we keep expanding what’s possible with AI Orchestration.”

Aim of the acquisition

Founded by Steven Nelemans and Robin Salimans, Utopian Labs offered hyperspecialised AI models designed to handle single business tasks.

The company empowers sales teams to work alongside AI agents that manage research, qualification, timing, and copywriting, offering capabilities beyond general-purpose models.

With this acquisition, Nelemans and Salimans joined Zapier to support their AI roadmap. Their experience in building applied AI systems is expected to improve automation and make AI tools more accessible.

Nelemans says, “We’ve spent the past few years deeply focused on AI. We’ve seen firsthand that adoption is what really matters. We’ve learned that AI today creates the most value when it fits naturally into your day-to-day processes. That’s where we see the power of Zapier.”

“Zapier is perfectly positioned to fast-track how people adopt AI. We’re excited to bring our experience in building specialised agents to help make that happen even faster,” adds co-founder Salimans.

‘cold-email-1’ launch

Before its acquisition, in May 2025, Utopian Labs released ‘cold-email-1’, an AI system built for email creation.

cold-email-1 produces sales emails with relevance, recipient focus, and readability. The system performs beyond large general-purpose models in multiple benchmark tests that measure output focus and consistency.

Steven Nelemans, CEO at Utopian Labs, says, “What makes cold-email-1 unique is its ability to outperform general-purpose models, while being 250x smaller. Most AI labs try to match GPT performance with a smaller model. Our models are trained on a new Reinforcement Learning technique, where they teach themselves how to become better at their task.”

The system is available through an API or the R1-Copywriting agent, which connects directly to CRM systems and workflow tools, allowing teams to use the model within their existing processes without reliance on closed platforms.

Additionally, the company provided a public endpoint where anyone can score cold emails using the same process applied during reinforcement learning, giving users a way to independently verify the model’s performance.