Gushwork bets on AI to search for customer leads – and the first results are visible

As AI-powered search engines revolutionize the way businesses find themselves online, an India-based startup Physical activity it’s helping companies capture customers from platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity – and it’s an early attraction that’s starting to attract funding.

The two-year-old startup said Thursday it raised $9 million in a seed round led by Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and Lightspeed, with participation from B Capital, Seaborne Capital, Beenext, Sparrow Capital, and 2.2 Capital. The round values ​​Gushwork at $33 million after financing, up from about $7.5 million following Lightspeed led $2.1 million pre-seed in July 2023, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The latest funding brings Gushwork’s total funding to $11 million, the founders said.

The money comes in the form of AI companies as well OpenAI and Mental confusion Start moving away from traditional internet searches, which keep incumbents like Google out Features created by AI etc discussion side throughout their searches. Gushwork is betting that this change will bring new opportunities to help businesses get noticed in AI-driven ways using their marketing assistants.

Founded in 2023 by Nayrhit Bhattacharya (pictured above, right) and Adithya Venkatesh (pictured above, left), Gushwork initially focused on helping small and medium-sized businesses outsource jobs using a mix of AI and human technology. The startup began to focus on search-driven advertising after seeing a need from clients for help in managing their online presence.

“When we started, we focused on helping businesses get off the ground quickly and efficiently,” Bhattacharya told TechCrunch in an interview, adding that customer appeal became hard to ignore.

The Gushwork platform uses a network of AI assistants to automate and optimize content, build backlinks – typically 10 to 20 per client – through a network of approximately 200 to 300 websites, and track inbound leads through integrated content management. The goal, Bhattacharya said, is to help businesses get visibility into traditional results and AI-powered solutions without relying on large in-house marketing teams.

Initially it says it signed up more than 300 paying customers – about 95% of them in the US – with subscriptions starting at $800 a month. Gushwork is currently running about $1.5 million in annual recurring revenue after releasing its AI search product about three months ago and is targeting $3 million to $3.5 million ARR in the next three months, Bhattacharya said, adding that the startup is growing at about 50% to 80% every month.

Across Gushwork’s client base, about 20% of website traffic now comes from AI-powered search and chat, but those sources account for about 40% of incoming leads, Bhattacharya said, citing the startup’s internal data.

Leaders with high goals, Bhattacharya said, are already translating into business results for some clients. In one case, a professional services client closed deals worth between $200,000 and $350,000 after adopting the platform, he said, declining to disclose the client’s name. He added that more users are seeing significant growth in the pipeline as AI-driven accessibility benefits.

Gushwork’s customers today are concentrated among high-ticket B2B suppliers, industrial suppliers, and contract manufacturers, mostly in the US, Bhattacharya said. The starting subscription is about $800 to $900 a month, or about $9,000 to $10,000 in annual contract costs, he added.

The transition to AI-driven accessibility is still in its early stages but is gaining momentum. Tools like generative AI chatbots and AI browsers are increasingly being used by consumers to research vendors and products. OpenAI said in July 2025 that ChatGPT they receive about 2.5 billion a day around the world, including about 330 million from US users. Bhattacharya said the trend is starting to reshape the way some businesses approach online presence.

Gushwork plans to use the new funding to expand its engineering team, improve model accuracy and expand its sales efforts, Bhattacharya said. He said the startup has more than 800 businesses on a waiting list who want to start onboarding.

The startup, based in Delaware with an office in Bengaluru, has about 70 employees in India, along with several contractors.