Profound Raises $180M Series D at $1.8B Valuation, Led by Sequoia and KP
On September 16, AI search optimization (AEO) company Profound announced a $180M Series D round co-led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins at a $1.8B post-money valuation. The round came just seven months after its $96M Series C, with Sequoia investing for the third consecutive round and all existing shareholders participating. The company is repositioning from AEO services into an agentic platform for marketers, as "brand visibility in the AI search era" emerges as a new track favored by both the marketing industry and capital.
Confirmed
- Profound raised $180M in Series D funding led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins; the company started at SPC and reached a $1.8B post-money valuation.
- The round followed its $96M Series C by only seven months, with Sequoia investing in three consecutive rounds and all existing shareholders adding to their positions.
- Investor Ditzikow said the round was completed under the leadership of James Cadwell and dB, as the company grows from an iconic New York startup into a global enterprise.
- Profound is expanding from AEO into an agentic platform for marketers, centered on "AI Marketing/AI Marketer" capabilities that proactively analyze data, spot opportunities, and execute, focused on brand visibility across AI search and answer engines.
- Engineer mrncst announced joining Profound and shipping a series of website updates with the team.
- Investors argue AI is transforming every vertical industry the way it transformed verifiable fields like software engineering, with brand marketing among them.
Why it matters
- As AI search and answer engines become major information gateways, AEO is seen as the next marketing necessity after SEO; @emmanuelvivier views the $1.8B valuation as evidence the nascent market is heating up rapidly.
- The joint lead by Sequoia and KP, a $1.8B valuation within two years of founding, and unanimous follow-on by existing backers signal sustained capital commitment to "marketing infrastructure for the AI era."
2026-09-16 ~ 2026-09-16 · 10 related posts
Primary sources
- Profound raises $180M Series D co-led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins — soleio · 2026-09-16
- [source] Profound closes Series D with existing investors doubling down — ditzikow · 2026-09-16
- AI search optimization startup Profound raises $180M Series D — soleio · 2026-09-16
- AEO Startup Profound Raises $180M Series D Co-Led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins — ditzikow · 2026-09-16
6 near-duplicate retellings: ditzikow · soleio · ditzikow · emmanuelvivier · 创业邦 · 快鲤鱼