Techstars Success: Mailchimp Buys Sawa

Sawa, an automated graphic design platform and Techstars Atlanta startup, has been acquired by Mailchimp. More commonly known as an email marketing platform for small businesses, Mailchimp’s   acquisition will allow its busy customers to benefit from Sawa’s ability to quickly create digital ads, email campaigns, website visuals and more, while still adhering to brand standards. 

“Sawa’s automated design technology perfectly aligns with Mailchimp’s priority to empower small businesses to punch above their weight with world-class marketing,” said Francis Tao, founder of Sawa. “I’m excited to join the Mailchimp team and to see how Mailchimp users grow when instant, beautiful, and on-brand design is at their fingertips.”

This is the first acquisition of a Techstars Atlanta company, and it underscores the power of the program to bring innovation to Atlanta. Kim Shriver, Cox’s Atlanta Venture Ecosystem lead, said Cox is proud of Francis and Sawa and thrilled to celebrate their acquisition by a great Atlanta company like Mailchimp.

“This is a Sawa success story and also a success story for Atlanta’s growing venture ecosystem,” Kim added. “We are proud to be a part of this story through our partnership with Techstars, attracting strong entrepreneurs and companies to our city.”

RELATED: Read our feature on Sawa.