Funding News GEO Startup

Azoma Becomes Latest AI Search Startup To Secure Funding

• ByStartupStory     |    December 5, 2025

London Firm Raises $4M Pre-Series A For Generative Engine Optimization Platform

London- and Toronto-based Azoma, a startup specializing in generative engine optimization (GEO)—the AI-era successor to traditional SEO—has raised $4 million (£3 million) in a pre-Series A funding round. The investment, backed by Ignite Ventures, Rank Ventures, eBay Ventures x Techstars, Twinpath Ventures, MaRS IAF, and strategic angels including DeepMind executives, fuels expansion of Azoma’s end-to-end workflow platform that helps brands dominate visibility in AI search results and chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Amazon Rufus.

Digital Twins And AI-Optimized Content

Founded in 2022 by CEO Max Sinclair and CTO Timur Luguev (PhD in computer science), Azoma addresses the shift from keyword search to conversational AI discovery, where over 50% of shoppers already use AI tools. Its patented “digital twin” technology simulates brand performance by generating thousands of user profiles and prompts to benchmark visibility across private chatbot conversations—unseen in traditional analytics.

The platform also auto-generates AI-optimized product listings, descriptions, and attributes that rank higher in LLM responses. Clients including Mars, Colgate, Zappos, and P&G report improved rankings; Azoma achieved profitability earlier 2025 with seven-figure ARR.

GEO Market Emerges Amid AI Discovery Shift

As Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted Rufus drives 60% higher purchases and $10B+ sales, brands race to adapt. Azoma’s SaaS model charges per-use for brands and by category for retailers, positioning as essential infrastructure for AI-first commerce.

Twinpath GP John Spindler praised: “Azoma combines industry understanding with state-of-the-art AI, protecting brand value while reaching new customers.” Mars’ Saumya Kowtha added: “We feel better equipped to take on AI.”

Roadmap: R&D, Hiring, Global Scale

Funds expand engineering, sales, and customer success while deepening model/marketplace coverage. Sinclair envisions: “Azoma as partner of choice ensuring brands remain discoverable through AI changes.”

Competitive landscape heats: Searchable raised similar funding this week. GEO’s nascent rules favor Azoma’s traction and patents.

Azoma’s raise validates AI discovery as $100B+ priority, bridging search’s death with agentic commerce—where visibility wins sales.

Follow Startup Story