Gushwork is investing in AI-driven search to find customer leads — and initial outcomes are starting to show

Gushwork Secures $9 Million to Boost AI-Driven Business Discovery

From left to right, Gushwork co-founders Adithya Venkatesh and Nayrhit Bhattacharya. | Image Credits: Gushwork

As artificial intelligence transforms the way companies are found online, Indian startup Gushwork is helping businesses reach customers through platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. The company’s early momentum is now attracting significant investor interest.

Gushwork, founded just two years ago, announced it has raised $9 million in seed funding. The round was led by Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and Lightspeed, with additional backing from B Capital, Seaborne Capital, Beenext, Sparrow Capital, and 2.2 Capital. This investment values the company at $33 million post-money, a sharp rise from its $7.5 million valuation after a $2.1 million pre-seed round led by Lightspeed in July 2023. With this latest round, Gushwork’s total funding now stands at $11 million.

AI Search Reshapes Online Discovery

The investment comes as AI-powered search tools from companies like OpenAI and Perplexity begin to challenge traditional search engines. In response, established players such as Google are introducing AI-generated summaries and new conversational features across their products. Gushwork is positioning itself to help businesses stand out in these emerging AI-powered discovery channels by leveraging automated marketing agents.

From Workflow Outsourcing to Search-Focused Marketing

Launched in 2023 by Nayrhit Bhattacharya and Adithya Venkatesh, Gushwork originally aimed to help small and medium-sized businesses streamline operations by combining AI with human expertise. However, after noticing a surge in demand for improved online visibility, the company shifted its focus to search-driven marketing solutions.

“Our initial mission was to make outsourcing faster and more efficient for businesses,” Bhattacharya explained in an interview with TechCrunch. “But we couldn’t ignore the growing demand from clients for better search visibility.”

How Gushwork’s Platform Works

Gushwork’s technology uses a network of AI agents to automatically create and refresh search-optimized content, build backlinks—typically 10 to 20 per client—through a network of 200 to 300 partner sites, and monitor incoming leads via an integrated content management system. The platform’s aim is to help clients appear in both conventional search results and AI-generated answers, eliminating the need for large in-house marketing teams.

Rapid Growth and Customer Base

More than 300 businesses, with about 95% based in the United States, now subscribe to Gushwork’s services, starting at $800 per month. Since launching its AI search-focused product three months ago, the company has reached an annualized recurring revenue of $1.5 million and is targeting $3 million to $3.5 million in ARR within the next quarter. Bhattacharya noted that Gushwork is currently growing at a rate of 50% to 80% each month.

AI Search Drives High-Quality Leads

According to Gushwork’s internal data, around 20% of client website traffic now comes from AI-powered search and chat platforms, but these channels generate about 40% of all inbound leads. Bhattacharya shared that these high-intent leads are already delivering tangible results for customers. For example, one professional services client secured between $200,000 and $350,000 in contracts after adopting Gushwork’s platform. Many users are seeing significant growth in their sales pipelines as AI-driven discovery becomes more prevalent.

Who Uses Gushwork?

The company primarily serves high-value B2B service providers, industrial distributors, and contract manufacturers in the U.S. The average subscription costs between $800 and $900 per month, translating to an annual contract value of $9,000 to $10,000.

The Rise of AI-Driven Discovery

While the shift toward AI-powered discovery is still in its early days, it is quickly gaining traction. Buyers are increasingly using generative AI chatbots and AI browsers to research vendors and products. In July 2025, OpenAI reported that ChatGPT handled approximately 2.5 billion prompts daily worldwide, including about 330 million from U.S. users. Bhattacharya believes this trend is already changing how businesses think about their online presence.

What’s Next for Gushwork?

With the new funding, Gushwork plans to grow its engineering team, enhance the accuracy of its AI models, and scale its go-to-market initiatives. The company has a waitlist of over 800 businesses that it intends to onboard soon.

Headquartered in Delaware with an office in Bengaluru, Gushwork employs about 70 people in India, along with several contractors.