Aaru, a startup that provides near-instant customer research by using AI to simulate user behavior, has raised a Series A funding round led by Redpoint Ventures. This information comes from three people familiar with the deal.
The funding round included different valuation tiers. Although some equity was acquired at a one billion dollar valuation, a lower valuation for other investors resulted in a blended valuation below one billion dollars. Multi-tier valuations within the same round are an unusual mechanism in venture capital, but investors say they are becoming increasingly common for desirable AI startups in the current market. This approach allows a company to report a higher headline valuation while simultaneously offering better terms to specific investors.
Aaru and Redpoint Ventures did not respond to a request for comment. The exact round size could not be learned, but one person said it is above fifty million dollars. Another source said the startup is growing quickly, but its annual recurring revenue is still below ten million dollars.
Aaru was founded in March 2024 by Cameron Fink, Ned Koh, and John Kessler, according to their LinkedIn profiles. The startup’s prediction model generates thousands of AI agents that simulate human behavior using public and proprietary data. Aaru replaces traditional market research methods, which generally include surveys and focus groups, by using agents to predict how groups in specific demographics or geographies will respond to future events.
The company’s customer partners include Accenture, EY, Interpublic Group, and political campaigns. Last year, Aaru’s polling methodology accurately predicted the outcome of the New York Democratic primary, according to reporting by Semafor.
Aaru competes with other social simulation startups, including Culture Pulse and Simile, as well as startups that apply AI to query humans about their product preferences, such as Listen Labs, Keplar, and Outset.
The startup previously raised an undisclosed amount of seed and pre-seed capital from investors including A*, Abstract Ventures, General Catalyst, Accenture Ventures, and Z Fellows, according to people familiar with the deal and PitchBook data.