AI Search marketing software company Profound announces completion of a $180 million Series D financing, raising its valuation to $1.8 billion. This is less than 7 months since its previous $96 million Series C financing, indicating that investors continue to place their bets on the company. AI Search-related tools.

Two institutions led the investment

The company disclosed that this round of financing was led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, with existing shareholders such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and South Park Commons continuing to participate in the investment.

Profound was established two years ago and initially served as an analysis platform. Subsequently, its products were expanded to include brand research and marketing strategy formulation. Its core business is to help companies increase their brand visibility in the search results of AI.

Aim at the AI search traffic entry point.

The fields that Profound operates in are commonly referred to as AEO and GEO, which are answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization, respectively. As more users search for goods and services through the AI system rather than traditional search engines, companies that provide such tools are trying to help brands adjust their content and marketing approaches.

This change is also driving companies to reallocate their marketing budgets. Startups that focus on optimizing search result visibility, brand presentation, and content around AI have recently continued to attract capital attention.

The number of customers has exceeded 1,000.

The company disclosed that its revenue has tripled over the past six months, and it now has more than 1,000 corporate clients, including Comcast, Estée Lauder Group, and Walmart.

From the perspective of financing pace, Profound has completed large-scale financings in less than a year, reflecting that the interest of investment institutions in AI's search commercialization tools is still on the rise.