Y Combinator-backed Revnu raise $3m to build AI marketing startup

Two 21-year-old childhood friends have raised $3m for an AI platform designed to help growing businesses find customers and build their sales pipelines without the cost of a large in-house marketing team.

Manchester-based Revnu was founded by George Jefferson and Art Freebrey, who first met in secondary school before going on to launch a string of businesses together while still in education.

Their early ventures included software to automate the buying and selling of rare vintage clothes and trainers, before they went on to build an accounting platform for Vinted sellers. While at university, their businesses were generating around $15,000 a month.

After recognising that the AI systems they had developed to automate work in their own businesses could have a much wider application, George and Art were encouraged by Monzo co-founder Jonas Templestein to pursue the opportunity and apply to Y Combinator. The pair then dropped out of university and moved temporarily to Silicon Valley to take part in the renowned accelerator.

Revnu has now raised $3m in a round led by NPIF II - PXN Equity Finance, which is managed by PXN Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II. The company also received backing from Y Combinator.

Despite considering building Revnu in San Francisco following the programme - and with much of its current customer base located there - George and Art instead returned to Manchester, where they believe access to emerging engineering and technology talent gives them the right base from which to scale globally.

The investment will be used to build Revnu's Manchester-based team, accelerate its growth in the UK and US, and support expansion into further international markets.

Revnu is an AI-powered growth platform designed to help early-stage companies find customers and build their sales pipelines without needing to immediately invest in large in-house marketing teams.

The platform allows businesses to deploy AI agents across channels including LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram to run campaigns, test advertising, generate leads and book meetings.

Business owners can also set budgets with Revnu, which uses AI to learn a company's tone and objectives over time and deliver updates on performance. It is also developing its capabilities in generative engine optimisation (GEO), helping businesses increase their visibility within responses generated by AI services such as Google AI and ChatGPT.

George Jefferson, CEO of Revnu, said:

"AI has made it easier than ever to start a business, but the real challenge arises when it comes to growing them. There's a general understanding about what's needed: more outbound, trying LinkedIn ads and testing more. But many simply don't have the time to run this activity themselves, nor have the budget to hire a dedicated growth team.

"Revnu removes this stumbling block. It tests every channel, finds what works for that business, scales what wins and gets rid of what doesn't - all while keeping the founder in the loop.

"And we're confident that Manchester is the right place to build this. Y Combinator opened our eyes to the Silicon Valley ecosystem in a very positive way, but San Francisco wasn't the place to build for us. The talent coming out of UK universities right now is amazing. In fact, our first hire is already moving up from London to Manchester to join us."

Stefano Smith, Senior Investment Associate at PXN Ventures, said:

"We knew George and Art prior to Y Combinator from their participation in hackathons and contribution to student accelerators. The pair immediately stood out as ambitious, driven young founders with strong technical expertise. When combined with our high conviction thesis on the new world of growth marketing, backing Revnu was an easy decision. NPIF II was created to invest in founders exactly like George and Art, and we're proud to support them in their growth journey."

Sue Barnard, Senior Investment Manager at British Business Bank, said:

"It's great to see the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II supporting ambitious technology businesses like Revnu as it develops innovative AI-powered solutions and pursues its international growth plans. Manchester has a thriving technology and digital sector, a key sector within the Government's Industrial Strategy. Through NPIF II, we're helping inspiring businesses across the North access the finance they need to scale, build and grow in the region."

The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North's smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.