Australian startup Heatseeker AI has raised US$1.5 million (A$2.3 million) in pre-seed funding from US investors at a “pivotal moment” in the multi-billion dollar market research industry.
The oversubscribed round, led by San Francisco-based Capital F, attracted investment from Eupehmia, Even Capital and East End Ventures for the company’s behavioral research platform.
The platform allows its users to gain insight from customer behaviour in real-time. It is currently used by more than dozen enterprise clients across the United States, Europe and Australia.
Health insurer Medibank and payments provider Tyro are among the Australian companies using the platform, according to a list on Heatseeker AI website, with other clients including consulting firms KPMG and Bain.
Capital F co-founder and general partner Margaret Coblentz described the company’s technology as being “immediately compelling” and said its team had the right experience to “execute rapidly”.
The Heatseeker AI team comprises chief executive Kate O’Keeffe, who was previously the founder of Cisco’s Hyperinnovation Labs and BCG Ventures, as well as chief operating officer Fiona Triaca and chief product officer Rutger Coolen.
“We’re ending the era where companies make multi-million dollar decisions based on what focus group participants claim they want. Our platform delivers what they truly need – authentic buying behaviour, captured in real time, at scale,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
The company has also followed the path of Australian tech powerhouses Atlassian and Canva by establishing a dual-continent model with product development in Australia and go-to-market operations based out of the US.
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