Founded by Steven Nelemans and Robin Salimans, Utopian Labs has been focused on building specialized AI models: faster, more efficient, and grounded in real-world use. Over time, their team developed a sharp intuition for what actually makes AI agents helpful in everyday workflows. To put it simply: their work stood out not for hype, but for practicality.
With this move, Steven and Robin will help accelerate our AI roadmap. Their experience building applied AI systems will help make automation even smarter and more accessible, continuing our mission to help people get real results from AI.
When asked why Zapier, Steven told us, “We’ve spent the past few years deeply focused on AI. We’ve seen first-hand 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.”
Robin added, “Zapier is perfectly positioned to fast-track how people adopt AI. We’re excited to bring our experience in building specialized agents to help make that happen even faster.”
Zapier co-founder and CTO Bryan Helmig shared, “Steven and Robin 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.”
As part of the transition, Utopian Labs will wind down its operations in the coming weeks.
We couldn’t be more excited to have Steven and Robin on board, and we can’t wait to show you what’s next.
![Zapier vs. Tray: Which is best? [2026]](https://images.ctfassets.net/lzny33ho1g45/1yB55KkctBPlYi9okoXbAw/4980700eeb63591d7560342dee782263/zapier-vs-tray-hero.jpg "Zapier vs. Tray: Which is best? [2026]")
