Obsero Raises $1.2 Million for Brand Optimization in AI Search

The London-based MarTech startup Obsero has closed a seed funding round of $1.2 million. The round was led by the British investor SFC Capital. In addition to business angels and other private investors, several of the company’s clients are also participating. Obsero is developing a platform that enables brands to analyze and improve their visibility in AI-generated responses. The new capital will be used primarily to develop specialized AI agents and expand the team.

As AI assistants become increasingly widespread, the way consumers search for products, services, and companies is also changing. Instead of relying exclusively on traditional search results, users are increasingly turning to applications like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity for direct recommendations.

This creates an additional challenge for companies. Their brands must not only be found in search engines but also appear in the responses of generative AI systems.

New Requirements for Digital Visibility

While traditional search engine optimization focuses primarily on the ranking of websites in search results, AI-based search systems place greater emphasis on whether a brand is mentioned within a generated response. Various factors can play a role here. In addition to a company’s own websites, AI systems take into account, for example, information from external sources, reviews, or editorial publications.

It is often difficult for marketing departments to understand which sources the respective systems draw upon and why certain brands are recommended while others are overlooked. Obsero aims to close this information gap and enable companies to systematically analyze their visibility in AI-generated responses.

More Than Ten Million AI Responses Analyzed

According to the company, Obsero collected and examined more than ten million AI-generated responses during its first fiscal year. Among other things, the platform analyzes how frequently certain brands are mentioned, in what context they appear, and which information sources influence their visibility.

Its client base includes the British digital bank Zopa Bank and the financial services provider Pepperstone. In addition, Obsero collaborates with agency partners such as IDHL and Silverbean.

The company currently combines its own analytics platform with consulting services provided by a specialized team. This approach is designed to help clients better understand which measures influence their presence in AI-based search and recommendation systems.

AI Agents to Automate Marketing Activities

With the new funding, Obsero aims to align its business model more closely with scalable software products. The company plans to develop specialized AI agents that build on insights gained from its work with clients to date.

These agents are designed not only to analyze a brand’s visibility but also to identify specific optimization opportunities and support marketing teams in implementing them. To this end, Obsero uses its own approach to Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO for short.

The term describes measures aimed at optimizing content and a brand’s digital presence for processing and mention by generative AI systems. According to the company, the underlying methods were developed over the course of a year of practical client work. The planned AI agents are designed to translate this knowledge into standardized software functions. In this way, Obsero aims to go beyond traditional analytics dashboards and become more deeply integrated into the day-to-day operations of marketing departments.

Founders Bring Experience in SEO and Performance Marketing

Obsero was founded by Mike Logue and Andy Francos, who met in 2019 at IG Group. Logue is the company’s CEO and previously worked in international performance marketing, among other roles. According to the company, he was responsible for a media budget of approximately 50 million British pounds at IG Group. He later worked as Vice President of Growth at the fintech company tastytrade in Chicago.

Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Andy Francos has many years of experience in search engine optimization. Among other roles, he managed the Procter & Gamble account at Starcom and, as a founding member of the marketing team, was responsible for the organic search channel at the British online car dealer Cazoo. According to the company, this channel generated 252 million British pounds in revenue during his three-year tenure. At IG Group, Francos also led an SEO team of about 20 people.

The two founders aim to apply their experience in traditional search engine optimization and data-driven marketing to the requirements of generative AI systems.

Existing customers are also investing

A notable feature of this funding round is the participation of several Obsero customers. In addition to SFC Capital, private investors and experienced business angels are investing in the company. The specific customers who have participated and the amounts of their respective investments have not been disclosed.

For CEO Mike Logue, however, the participation of existing customers is a sign of confidence in the product development to date.

Lead investor SFC Capital sees the combination of proprietary technology, specialized consulting services, and planned automation as a key driver for further growth. Ed Stevenson, Fund Principal at SFC Capital, notes that AI assistants are playing an increasingly important role in digital information retrieval.

Engineering Team to More Than Double

The new capital will primarily be invested in product development and commercial expansion. Obsero plans to more than double its engineering team. At the same time, sales and go-to-market activities are set to be expanded.

The focus is on developing the first specialized AI agents, which the company intends to use to further automate its services—which have thus far been primarily consulting-based. The announcement does not include details on revenue to date, the total number of customers, or the current headcount.

AI Search Is Emerging as a New MarTech Market

With this funding, Obsero is positioning itself in a nascent market for the analysis and optimization of brand presence in generative AI systems.

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to know whether their products and services appear in AI responses and how reliable the information provided is. However, there is currently still debate over whether companies need to optimize their data for GEO at all, or whether good SEO is sufficient.

However, there is no guarantee that a brand will be mentioned by generative AI. Responses can vary depending on the system, the query, and the time of day. Obsero therefore focuses on the ongoing analysis of large volumes of AI responses and the derivation of data-driven recommendations for action.

With the $1.2 million, the London-based startup now aims to accelerate its transition from a combination of software and consulting to a more highly automated product offering.