Obsero raises $1.2M to help brands track citations across AI search
What's the deal? AI search platform ObseroDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $1.2 million in seed funding, led by SFC CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, as businesses look for ways to improve their visibility in AI-generated recommendations. The London-based company helps brands understand how they appear in tools including ChatGPT, Google GeminiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews.
Why now? Customers increasingly use AI assistants rather than traditional search engines for product comparisons, financial information, and recommendations. That means brands must ensure they are included in AI-generated answers — a shift Obsero's founders spotted as search behaviour changed.
What's the endgame? Obsero specialises in Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), focused on how brands are represented and recommended by AI systems. Its platform combines prompt tracking technology with consultancy to analyse how AI engines describe brands, which sources they reference, and how businesses can improve their odds of appearing in results.
The funding will more than double Obsero's engineering team, accelerate commercial growth, and fund new AI agents designed to help marketing teams act on findings rather than just read dashboards. The round also drew professional investors, angel investors, and several existing customers.
The track record: In its first year, Obsero says it tracked and analysed more than 10 million AI-generated answers to identify what influences brand visibility. Clients include digital bank Zopa and trading provider PepperstoneDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, with agency partners IDHL and Silverbean.
Obsero was founded in September 2025 by former IG Group executives Mike Logue and Andy Francos, who met there in 2019. Logue, chief executive officer, previously led global performance marketing at IG Group, managing a £50 million media budget, before becoming VP of growth at tastytrade. Francos, chief product officer, managed a £3 million annual SEO investment at IG Group and earlier helped generate £252 million in organic revenue as Cazoo's founding head of organic.
"AI is changing how people discover brands faster than any shift I've seen in marketing, and most teams are still flying blind," said Logue. Francos added that "much of what worked in SEO still matters, but AI engines weigh sources, context and credibility in new ways."
The signal: "AI assistants are quickly becoming the new front door to the internet," said Ed Stevenson, fund principal at SFC Capital. As that front door replaces the search bar, GEO is emerging as the successor discipline to SEO — and a new market for tools that tell brands whether machines are recommending them.
Read more: goodmoneyguide.com
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