promoted.ai Raises Funding to Fuel Marketplace Growth

Promoted.ai Secures $2 Million to Enhance Marketplace Search

The challenge for sellers in today’s crowded marketplaces is visibility. Promoted.ai is addressing this issue, recently obtaining $2 million in funding to further develop its technology. This tool is designed to connect buyers with relevant sellers within marketplace search results.

Origins and Core Mission

Founded by former Pinterest engineers, Andrew Yates and Dan Hill, the company aims to streamline the buyer experience. The goal is to facilitate easier discovery of desired products, ultimately fostering customer loyalty and repeat business.

Sellers benefit through immediate insights into their product’s search performance and access to tools for sales improvement. Yates explained to TechCrunch that their system predicts user engagement and potential purchases for each item.

Beyond Simple Item Matching

Promoted.ai’s technology goes beyond basic item matching. It focuses on optimizing the entire search experience. This includes equitable attention distribution between large and small sellers, and ensuring user satisfaction with the search results.

The founders, located in the Bay Area, initiated Promoted.ai in 2020 and participated in Y Combinator’s winter program. Key investors in this funding round include Interlace Ventures and Rebel Fund.

Investor Perspective

Vincent Diallo, managing partner at Interlace, highlighted the team’s extensive experience as a major factor in their investment decision. He felt they possessed “amazing experience in the space.”

Interlace focuses on commerce technology and identified two significant trends that Promoted.ai is positioned to capitalize on. These are the expansion of retailers into marketplaces and the rise of specialized marketplaces catering to specific customer behaviors.

Diallo noted the substantial revenue generated by Amazon through its advertising platform, reinforcing the potential for a similar tool. This conviction drove their investment in Promoted.ai.

Unique Funding Approach

The company is currently pursuing enterprise-level contracts and intends to utilize the new funding for team expansion. However, their funding strategy was unconventional.

Given the competitive tech talent market, and a team largely comprised of engineers from Facebook, Pinterest, and Google, the founders opted to offer equity to the core engineering team. The remaining funds were raised from individual angel investors contributing $50,000 or less.

Yates stated that while they declined offers from some venture funds, this approach cultivated a strong network of supporters and advocates. Offering direct equity proved effective in attracting top engineering talent, given the high demand and compensation for experienced machine learning and advertising engineers.

Early Success and Future Plans

Despite being a young company, Promoted.ai is already collaborating with marketplace applications such as Hipcamp and Snackpass. Clients are reporting increased conversion rates as a result.

For instance, Promoted.ai reportedly boosted Hipcamp’s overall booking rate by over 7%, according to Yates.

The company’s immediate focus is on developing the launch manager side of their product. They plan to create a listings-focused tool mirroring the functionality of an advertising manager.

• Key takeaway: Promoted.ai aims to improve marketplace search for both buyers and sellers.
• Funding: The company secured $2 million in funding.
• Early clients: Hipcamp and Snackpass are already utilizing the platform.