Automattic's Mesh, the personal CRM and relationship manager formerly known as Clay, is now available on Android through Google Play. The release brings AI-powered contact management to phones, tablets, and foldables with platform-specific optimizations: split-screen and pop-up multitasking, keyboard shortcuts for large screens, Material You themed widgets, and real-time cross-device sync.

The Android launch marks Mesh's first appearance on Google's mobile platform since Automattic acquired the startup in June 2025. Clay had raised $9 million from General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures before the acquisition and managed over 150 million relationships across its user base.

What's new

  • Native Android app with split-screen and pop-up views
  • Keyboard shortcuts optimized for tablets and foldables
  • Home screen widgets with Material You dynamic color theming
  • Real-time synchronization across devices
  • Nexus AI early access for natural-language network queries (company, location, expertise)
  • Beeper integration for drafting messages and deep-linking to contact profiles
  • Free tier supports up to 1,000 contacts; Mesh Pro starts at $10/month or $40/seat/month for teams

Co-founder Zachary Hamed described the product's direction in an interview earlier this spring: "We're thinking a lot about how can AI help you be a better friend and have better work and personal relationships?" The company is experimenting with voice-based, hands-free interaction and improved business card scanning. Personal data is not used for advertising; the product operates on a subscription model.

Co-founder Matthew Achariam notes that approximately 70% of Mesh customers use the app for business purposes, with the sweet spot being executives managing larger teams or professionals with dense networks. He adds that features built for business users apply equally to consumers: "The beauty of serving business users is that the same things they're using apply to every individual consumer."

The app integrates with Gmail, Exchange, Office 365, iCloud, LinkedIn, Facebook, Apple Contacts, Airtable, Pipedrive, Close, Affinity, Coda, Cardhop, and Rolodex. Recent updates fixed a Nexus AI crash when connections dropped mid-response, reduced the app size, and improved crash reporting.

Why it matters

The Android release completes Mesh's cross-platform coverage alongside macOS, Windows, iOS, and web, making it viable for professionals who rely on Android as their primary mobile device. The Beeper integration signals Automattic's broader strategy of weaving communication and relationship management into a unified layer — Mesh handles the "who" and context, while Beeper handles the "how" across WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, LinkedIn, and other platforms. For users managing tens of thousands of connections across multiple services, the AI-assisted query layer addresses a scaling problem that manual contact management cannot solve.

Our take

Mesh's subscription-only model (no ad targeting) is a deliberate differentiator in a contact-management space often monetized through data. The real test is whether Nexus AI's early-access capabilities prove reliable enough to replace the mental index power users currently maintain. If the AI layer matures, Mesh could become the default identity layer Automattic envisioned when it acquired Clay.

Sources