Czech Ranketta Raises EUR 1M to Help Brands Win in the AI Search Era

• Brno-based Ranketta raised EUR 1M of Pre-Seed investment to boost AI visibility for brands
• AI visibility is becoming critical, potentially surpassing traditional SEO in consumer influence
• The platform helps brands track and optimize their presence across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and more
• Future plans include ecommerce integrations and expansion across Europe and in the US

This November, Ranketta—an online platform that helps brands increase their AI visibility—raised EUR 1M of Pre-Seed funding. The lead investor of the round was the well-known Czech VC fund Lighthouse Ventures (invested in DecisionRules, among others), joined by Gi21 Capital (invested in Zerops, among others).

The Founder Behind the Vision and the Rise of AI-Powered Search

The startup was founded earlier this year by Ranketta Vojtěch Oravec, a 21-year-old Czech engineer and AI researcher. He began coding at 16 and was considered a professional software engineer by 18. Before founding Ranketta, he conducted research under Tomáš Mikolov, one of the world’s most cited AI scientists, at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics (CIIRC) at Czech Technical University. He later became the youngest product manager at enterprise company Henry Schein.

Reportedly, half of all consumers today are using AI-powered search to guide their purchasing decisions, with 44% relying on it more than traditional search engines like Google. Spending influenced by AI-driven search is projected to reach USD 750B by 2028. Despite this, fewer than 40% of marketers consider Generative Engine Optimization a priority, and only 16% of brands actively track their performance in AI search. As a result, a brand can be highly visible on Google yet next to invisible within large language models if it lacks the right tools to understand what consumers actually see. This trend has accelerated with the launch of OpenAI’s own shopping research feature, turning ChatGPT into a mainstream shopping assistant and expanding AI’s influence on consumer behavior across millions of users.

‘LLMs always try to recommend the most relevant product for your query. Standard search algorithms mostly match keywords and metadata, while LLMs infer intent, context, and constraints you didn’t explicitly state so they reason about products more like a human salesperson than a database,’ Mr Oravec clarifies.

Ranketta’s Solution and Responsible Visibility

Ranketta, in turn, sets out to help D2C, ecommerce, and B2B brands measure and enhance their visibility in AI-generated answers. By tracking brand presence across large language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, it provides real data and actionable insights, enabling companies to optimize their rankings and ensure their brand is accurately represented in AI-driven responses.

‘What we do is help brands show up more clearly in that system, so their products are easier to find. That’s not bias, that’s visibility.On the ethics side, we keep firm boundaries. We’ve already turned down political parties and other groups that shouldn’t be anywhere near this kind of influence. And we pay close attention to how people try to use the platform. The goal is to improve discovery, not twist recommendations,’ the founder states.

Growth and Recognition

‘Many companies are trying to address AI search, but Ranketta’s precision and product-level visibility set it apart. The company’s early growth, together with Vojtěch’s technical vision, are both highly impressive. With AI search set to influence hundreds of billions in consumer spending over the next few years, we see Ranketta emerging as a key player in this rapidly growing market,’ Lighthouse Ventures’ managing partner Michal Zálešák comments.

Since its launch, Ranketta already reported USD 100K in ARR and now serves over 20 fast-growing European brands, including Boost.space, Brainmarket, Purple Technology, and Sloneek.

It’s easy to imagine AI visibility eventually becoming more important than Google SEO for some industries in the near future. Mr Oravec believes that the first to shift are categories where people already rely on ‘just tell me what to buy’ instead of hunting through links. Namely, this includes consumer tech, beauty, supplements, travel, — anywhere the buyer wants a straight answer, one can expect AI visibility to outrun SEO.

‘Traditional SEO won’t define the next decade, AI visibility will. Ranketta is among the first platforms to clearly decode how AI models evaluate brands and products, giving companies the insight they need to grow in an AI-first marketplace,’ Gi21 Capital’s managing partner Damir Špoljarič adds.

Goals and Plans

Ranketta’s recent funding should accelerate its European expansion, support entry into the US market, and grow its engineering, product, and sales teams. Additionally, the investment will advance the development of Ranketta’s integrations with Shopify and other ecommerce platforms, enhancing its value for merchants seeking scalable AI-powered solutions.

‘The focus is pretty simple. Most of the budget goes into sales and marketing so we can ramp up acquisition across Europe and build a real pipeline in the US. On top of that, we’re rolling out our add-ons for e-commerce platforms, which should open a new distribution channel. The milestones will be about getting those add-ons live, scaling sales, proving repeatable demand, and getting ourselves on track for around EUR 1M ARR next year. That sets us up to raise the next round this year and for me to move to the US next year with real traction,’ Mr Oravec explains.

Ranketta is among those pioneering a critical shift for brands, helping them navigate the new landscape of AI-driven consumer discovery. By providing visibility and LLM-related actionable insights, it helps companies ensure they remain seen in a world where traditional search and SEO no longer suffice. In an AI-first global marketplace, it is tools like Ranketta;s that arm brands with the strategic advantage to reach customers effectively and stay competitive.