AEO 创业公司 Profound 融资 1.8 亿美元，估值达 18 亿美元
AEO startup Profound hits unicorn valuation, raises $180M Series D 7 months after last round
营销软件公司 Profound 宣布完成 1.8 亿美元 D 轮融资，估值 18 亿美元，距上一轮 9600 万美元 C 轮不到七个月。本轮融资由 Sequoia 和 Kleiner Perkins 领投，Lightspeed Venture Partners、Khosla Ventures 等跟投。
Profound, which builds marketing software to help brands appear in AI search results, on Tuesday said it has raised a $180 million Series D at a $1.8 billion valuation, less than seven months after it raised a $96 million Series C.
Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins led the round, and existing investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and South Park Commons, also participated.
Launched two years ago, Profound started as an analytics platform, and has since expanded to help companies research and create marketing strategies. The startup helps businesses understand how AI helps consumers discover their brands.
It’s part of a wave of startups in the GEO/AEO space (generative engine optimization and answer engine optimization, respectively), where companies try to find ways to surface their products in the AI systems customers are increasingly using for search.
The company says its revenue has increased by 3x in the past six months, and it now has more than 1,000 enterprise customers, which include Comcast, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Walmart.
来源：TechCrunch：AI · techcrunch.com