Profound, a two-year-old company that builds marketing software to appear in AI search results, has just raised a staggering $180 million Series D round, valuing the startup at a cool $1.8 billion. This latest funding round comes less than seven months after the company raised a $96 million Series C, indicating an explosive growth trajectory. The investment was led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins, with existing backers Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and South Park Commons also participating.

Launched with the aim of providing analytics, Profound has since expanded to help companies research and create marketing strategies, aiming to understand how AI can help consumers discover their brands. This move is part of a broader trend in the GEO/AEO space, where companies are trying to find ways to surface their products in the increasingly popular AI-driven search systems.

According to the company, its revenue has tripled in the last six months, with over 1,000 enterprise customers including household names like Comcast, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Walmart. This rapid growth underscores the importance of AI in modern marketing, as businesses scramble to remain visible in an increasingly digital world.

Profound's success story is a testament to the power of AI in transforming industries. As more businesses turn to AI for marketing, the lines between human and machine-driven strategies are blurring, suggesting a future where every click could be preordained by code.