Cincinnati’s BrandRank.AI raises $1.2 million seed round for AI-driven brand search analytics

Photo: BrandRank.ai team led by Hank Hudepohl, center left, and Pete Blackshaw, center right

Cincinnati’s BrandRank.AI, a pioneer in generative AI-based brand search analytics, has raised $1.2 million in venture seed and angel funding to accelerate technology development, onboard a scalable sales organization, and build support infrastructure.

Brands could see organic search traffic cut in half by 2028 as consumers embrace new answer engine services, according to Gartner, underscoring the need for resources like BrandRank.AI.

BrandRank.AI helps brands measure, protect, and grow trust through the power of AI-driven search and discovery. The company's SaaS platform leverages AI to help brands navigate the "Prompted Moment of Truth" — where a single generative AI search response can significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions. 

In just four months, BrandRank.AI has demonstrated traction by landing six corporate customers, including Nestlé and the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, and developing a robust pipeline of over a dozen high-potential brands. In recent weeks, the firm has expanded its brand analytics to professional athletes including pilots with four NBA players, and hopes to target women’s sports as a growth area. To further build its sales pipeline, BrandRank.AI is auditing the sustainability declarations of Paris 2024 sponsors and suppliers and building a knowledge base of insights, best practices, and greenwashing watchouts. 

Who’s investing in BrandRank.ai?

Investors in the round include Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners and the Mercury Fund. Individual investors include former P&G CEO and Disney Chairman John Pepper and Francie Pepper, early venture capital leaders and Cincinnati Reds and FC Cincinnati investors Jack and Peg Wyant of Grandin Properties, Cincinnati business and civic leader Ed Rigaud, and Claritas CEO Mike Nazzaro (formerly Nielsen Catalina CEO).

Other investors include Antenna Analytics CEO Jonathan Carson, gen.video Chairman Bill Hildebolt, former P&G and Google Executive (now DoubleVerify Chief Commercial Officer) and women’s sports teams and women's sports media investor Julie Eddleman, former P&G sustainable supply chain and product leader Ashish Chatterjee, serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Dave Balter (Flipside Crypto, BzzAgent), former senior Omnicare executive Tracy Finn (now Principal of Bridge Healthcare Partners), and Jim Lites, Vice Chairman of California Strategies, California’s largest public policy consulting firm.

The team behind their work

Co-founder and CEO Pete Blackshaw is a recognized digital and brand trailblazer, having served as Global Head of Digital at Nestlé and co-founded P&G's first interactive marketing team in the early days of the web. He recently served as CEO of Cintrifuse, a startup accelerator and venture fund backed by local corporations such as P&G, Western & Southern, and Kroger. 

COO and co-founder Hank Hudepohl brings extensive startup experience from four prior early-stage companies, including nearly 10 years building global products at TripAdvisor and launching one of the first online trust certifications with Gomez Advisors. He most recently served as VP of Core SaaS Products for Paycor’s 50,000 customers. The team also includes Kelly Cohen, Chief Scientific Advisor, a leader in AI logic systems and LLM interpretation, and CTO Matt Cox (Trip Advisor, Toast).

To learn more, visit BrandRank.ai.

What It Means to Ohio

BrandRank.AI and others are keeping Ohio at the leading edge of AI development. 

From startups to VCs to government, the ecosystem is rapidly forming. For one, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted this year introduced an AI toolkit for Ohio’s K-12 school districts.

BrandRank.AI has deep ties to Ohio, including recently naming Dr. Kelly Cohen, the Brian H. Rowe Endowed Chair in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, as Chief Scientific Advisor.

The founders hope the entire Midwest region can eventually gain a reputation in the rapidly developing field.

“The Midwest could be an epicenter for responsible AI,” Blackshaw told OhioTechNews.com earlier this year. “We are hoping this can catalyze a bit of a sector here in greater Cincinnati, or Ohio, because it’s very early.”

What They’re Saying

“We are entering an 'Answer Economy'—powered by generative AI—that’s revolutionizing how consumers discover, explore, and purchase products and services. Brands can’t afford not to know their standing in the answer box: Are they present, doubted, distorted, lacking substance or conspicuously absent? Trust starts here.”

- Pete Blackshaw, co-founder and CEO, BrandRank.AI

“We are developing technology to monitor what AI answer engines are saying about brands — be it fact or fiction — and then we give them ways to take ownership. Helping brands build trust with the consumer is at the center of what we do. Our technology tracks brand presence in the new answer engines for both risk mitigation and growth opportunity.”

- Hank Hudepohl, co-founder and COO, BrandRank.AI

“(BrandRank.AI brings) electrifying insights that you can act upon in this rapidly evolving space. We're also drawn to BrandRank's commitment to sustainability and the power of their analytics in exposing uncomfortable—yet motivating—truths. This inevitably helps us better connect with our customers.”

- Lee Beech, Senior Director of Consumer Experience, Nestlé Canada