Profound Hits Unicorn Status With $180M Raise

Profound, an AI search marketing startup, has raised a $180 million Series D at a $1.8 billion valuation, just seven months after its $96 million Series C. Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins led the round, with Lightspeed, Khosla Ventures, and South Park Commons also participating. The two-year-old company helps brands appear in AI-powered search results, serving over 1,000 enterprise clients including Walmart, Comcast, and Estée Lauder. Profound reports a 3x revenue increase in the past six months, reflecting surging demand for generative and answer engine optimization tools.