Adobe Announces $1.9B Acquisition of Semrush to Boost AI Tools

Adobe has announced that it will buy Semrush for $1.9 billion in cash. The deal is part of Adobe’s plan to strengthen its marketing tools and boost its use of generative AI for brands.

Adobe will pay $12 per share, which is about 77.5% higher than Semrush’s last closing price. After the news, Semrush’s stock rose 74% to $11.79.

Semrush creates AI-powered tools that help businesses with SEO, social media marketing, and digital advertising. Adobe expects the acquisition to help marketers better understand how people view their brands online, including through search engines and AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

Adobe’s software lineup—such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and InDesign—remains widely used by professionals, students, and businesses. However, the company has been facing pressure from investors to grow its AI revenue as competition in digital design continues to increase. Adobe’s stock has dropped more than 27% this year.

“While we are positive on Adobe restarting its M&A engine given the success that it has seen with this motion over the years… this deal likely does little to answer the questions revolving around the company’s creative cloud business,” William Blair analysts said in a note.

Adobe recently raised its revenue and profit forecasts due to strong demand for its design tools. It also announced that it is working with OpenAI to allow users to control Adobe apps through ChatGPT.