Athena launches from stealth, promoting ‘the world’s fastest generative engine optimization platform’
Athena, a fast generative engine optimization (GEO) platform, is emerging from stealth with $2.2 million, enabling the company to help organizations of all sizes to secure top placement in AI-powered searches.
The company plans to use the funding to scale its GEO platform and roll out new tools for SaaS and ecommerce brands as AI-powered shopping increases in popularity.
The round was funded by Y Combinator, FCVC, Red Bike Capital, Amino Capital, and top SEO and search executives including Eli Schwartz and Ashley Stirrup.
Athena said it built its platform to be “the fastest and most actionable GEO platform on the market.” To do this, it built a catalog of over 3 million real-world AI responses and continuously maps them to more than 300,000 unique sites that LLMs cite from.
Its platform then recommends the exact website configuration changes or content needed across text, image, or video to rank higher in AI-search results. The platform is already being used by more than 80 companies including Coupons.com, Checkr, Artisan, Ollie, and other companies.
Athena was created by Andrew Yan and Alan Yao, two search and AI engineers. Yan previously worked at Google Search where he worked on the information acquisition team giving him a deep understanding of the technical and commercial aspects of the industry.
Yao previously worked at ServiceNow building AI products and has been building on OpenAI’s platform since 2020, well before ChatGPT launched.
They put together a team of builders, investors, and advisors from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepMind, and other leading organizations.
“AI is driving a seismic shift in how people find information,” said Eli Schwartz, a leading SEO advisor and angel investor in Athena. “Over the next decade, AI search will unlock billions in B2B and consumer spending, and Athena’s platform gives brands the precision and speed they need to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
For more information about this news, visit www.athenahq.ai.