Peec, one of Berlin’s rising startups, doubled its annual revenue in months to $10M, sources said.

One of Berlin’s top startups, startup startups, Peec AIit just passed $10 million in annual revenue, according to internal dashboard data seen and verified by TechCrunch.

Peec AI raised a $21 million Series A six months ago. Although CEO Marius Meiners wouldn’t reveal his valuation to me at the time (only to reveal that it was above $100 million), he said that the startup had grown its revenue to over $4 million in the 10 months since its launch.

As a result, it has doubled its revenue stream, and quickly.

Peec helps brands track and improve their visibility in AI search. I am in Berlin, recently he opened the office in New York.

It also serves as a testament to one of the biggest market changes taking place in European technology.

“Today’s founders are chasing big money,” Antler partner Christoph Klink told me a few days ago. After staying in a hotel lobby during a week full of tech events, the Berlin-based VC said that Peec AI is one of the most successful companies in his field, along with Lovable and others.

My next question was how he defined success, which led to a discussion about the recent market. Compared to six years ago, he said, the biggest change is that success is now defined by growth, not by price.

After learning from the ashes of 2021 and the pain of returning to reality, investors now know that money can’t be just an illusion. The bottom line is that it’s not something you just look at every few weeks, Klink told me.

Startups now tend to continue to run dashboards on revenue growth, sometimes – as in the case of Peec – visible to all employees.

For some startups, this has required a change; but others were born only in this new cycle.

Peec AI products take a similar approach to SEO dashboards, except that they help brands track search engine optimization (GEO) – see if they are visible when users type in some of the incentives in ChatGPT and so on.

But as Meiners told me, he is a former esports athlete who once ranked among the top 100 League of Legends players. This explains why he shares the marketing budget with the rest of his company: his reputation has given him the passion that makes a successful team.

Talent is the number one ingredient, and Peec AI has taken a new approach to hiring in Berlin’s competitive market.

Like many startups in the Bay Area, but very few in Europe, it invested in billboards to promote itself not only to prospects, but also to potential applicants. In our conversation, Klink recalled with a smile that these signs are often placed in front of other tech companies across the city.

What the posters say may be different, but it’s part of the story that’s trying to position Peec AI as the right company to jump ship. According to Klink, this indicator is very important in today’s AI movement, where companies and investors are following trends – such as AI search.

This bet on the slow pace also affects many of the startups that Klink has invested in, which is why they understand why portfolio companies like Peec AI – and Beloved – Not only track ARR, but sometimes they openly disclose how they earn money even though they have no obligation to do so.

“This is a way to show that it works,” Klink said. “It also shows a focus on growth that establishes culture.”