Episode Details

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Why email never died — and why Superhuman is betting on voice, AI, and the future of work

Rahul Vohra, founder of Superhuman and now CEO of Superhuman Mail inside the newly formed Superhuman group, joins NEW ECONOMIES on why email remains the most important layer of modern work, how AI is transforming productivity beyond the inbox, and why distribution and focus matter more than technical moats in the age of infinite software.

In our latest podcast episode with Rahul, we unpack Superhuman’s eleven-year journey — from the contrarian decision to reinvent email when everyone said it was dead, to building one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic productivity brands and eventually becoming the foundation for a much bigger ambition: the AI-native productivity suite.

We also explore why voice could become the default interface for knowledge work, how AI assistants are becoming a new growth channel for software companies, and why Rahul believes the next generation of winners won’t be defined by who writes the best code — but by who owns distribution, executes relentlessly, and knows what not to build.

If that’s not enough, we go deep on the acquisition story that led Grammarly to rename the entire company around Superhuman, why email continues to outperform every prediction of its demise, and what building the productivity bundle of the future actually looks like.

Watch or listen now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify

Download the transcript

Timestamps

(0:00) Rahul Vohra(1:44) Why Go After Disrupting Email(4:22) Will Email Still Stay Relevant?(9:20) The Impact of Voice(14:20) PLG: Sent by Superhuman(18:57) Why Moats Are Becoming Increasingly Hard to Build(24:30) How Does Superhuman Group Stay Focused?(28:55) Inside Superhuman(33:20) Missing Products from the Bundle(36:52) The Acquisition(45:45) Ollie Joining as Chief of Staff(47:45) Angel Investing

Our notes from this conversation

* Email is still the most important protocol at work.

Every few years someone declares email dead — and every few years they’re wrong. Email remains identity, authentication, and the default layer for company co