# Searchable

Aiolum story: https://aiolum.com/story/searchable/ · added 2026-11-05 · updated 2026-11-05

**In short.** Searchable (AI search visibility platform (AEO) with an AI agent and an article writer, United Kingdom): Over US$2M ARR, May 2026. Evidence grade D: reported, not verified. Team: 3 co-founders, Chris Donnelly, Sam Hogan and Arya Nagabhyru, in 2025; 44 people listed on the company's About page in November 2026, after two funding rounds. Launched November 2025; still running.

AI search visibility platform (AEO) with an AI agent and an article writer · United Kingdom · AI-native · started small, grew after funding · still running · group: SEO and AI search

- Outcome: Over US$2M ARR, May 2026 (evidence grade of the headline number: D; headline in US dollars: 2000000)
- Launch: November 2025; months from launch to the outcome: 6
- Team: 3 co-founders, Chris Donnelly, Sam Hogan and Arya Nagabhyru, in 2025; 44 people listed on the company's About page in November 2026, after two funding rounds
- Outside funding: US$4M led by Freestyle in December 2025 and US$14M led by Headline at an US$85M valuation in May 2026, as the company states
- Main factor: Distribution
- Meters, 1 to 4: evidence strength 1, copyable pattern 1, capital needed 3
- Tags: AI-native, Small team, Funded, Running, B2B, Marketing

Links:

- Visit searchable.com: https://www.searchable.com/

**The product.** A web platform that asks AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews the questions a brand's customers ask, records whether the brand is named or cited in the answers, and compares it with competitors. An AI agent then suggests what to change, runs site audits, and a Content Studio writes articles that the customer reviews, edits and exports to a content system such as WordPress or Webflow. The pricing page lists plans from US$125 a month billed yearly.

**Why it worked.** Chris Donnelly had run an SEO agency for ten years and saw buyers move from Google results to AI answers. He started selling at the start of the new category, to brands with budgets, and announced every step to a large existing audience of founders and marketers. Paid accounts opened in January 2026, and the founder wrote that it passed US$2 million in annual recurring revenue about four months later.

Evidence grades: A = disclosed by a public company, a filing or a payment processor, or verified by one; B = two or more independent reports agree, or a journalist confirmed it; C = a founder claim that no one else verified; D = reported, not verified: one founder claim or a third-party estimate with no second source; E = no revenue figure found, so the headline is a non-money fact and the other facts carry their own grades; calc = computed on this page from graded facts.

## Summary

Searchable sells answer engine optimization (AEO): work that makes a brand appear in the answers of AI assistants, the way search engine optimization (SEO) makes a page rank in Google's list of links. The platform sends a fixed set of tracked prompts, questions that a customer might type, to engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews every day. It records which brands each answer names and which web pages it cites, and reports a share of voice, the part of all brand mentions that belongs to the customer. An AI agent turns the gaps into audits, content briefs and article drafts.

Chris Donnelly, Sam Hogan and Arya Nagabhyru founded the company in London and New York in 2025, as the company's own press release of September 2026 says. Donnelly wrote on the company blog on 18 May 2026 that the free beta opened in November 2025, paid accounts opened in January 2026, and that the company had since reached over US$2 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 500 paying customers. The same day the company announced US$14 million in funding led by Headline at an US$85 million valuation. By November 2026 the About page listed 44 people, offices in London, New York and Salt Lake City, and a purchase of the New York competitor Meridian.

Every revenue figure on this page comes from the company or its founders, so the grade is D: reported, not verified. Two company texts of the same day state about US$2 million, which is one claim, and a founder-submitted story of October 2026 states US$3 million in annual recurring revenue, but no payment processor or investor document confirms them. The company is no longer small: it started with three founders and grew after two venture rounds.

## Pricing

Searchable plans for brands, read on the company's pricing page on 5 November 2026 (grade C)

| Plan | Per month, billed yearly (US$) | Per month, billed monthly (US$) | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | 125 |  | 100 tracked prompts per model, 200 audits and 20 articles a month, 1 project |
| Scale | 400 |  | 500 tracked prompts per model, 1,000 audits and 80 articles a month, 10 projects |
| Enterprise | 999 |  | 1,250 tracked prompts per model, 3,000 audits and 200 articles a month, dedicated specialist |
| Custom | custom |  | custom coverage, single sign-on |

The page shows the prices with the yearly billing option selected; the monthly-billing prices are behind a switch that the downloaded page did not show, so that column is empty. Pro and Scale have a 14-day free trial. Each plan includes three engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity); Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Google AI Mode and Meta Muse are paid add-ons. A separate agency plan exists and was not read.

## How much revenue does Searchable make? The numbers, graded

A company started by three founders that the company says reached over US$2 million in annual recurring revenue about four months after paid accounts opened, then raised US$14 million and grew to 44 people

| Fact | Value | Grade | Note | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual recurring revenue, 18 May 2026 | over US$2 million | D | Chris Donnelly on the company blog: 'we've reached over $2 million in annual recurring revenue', just over four months after paid accounts opened in January 2026. | [1] |
| Revenue figure in the funding release, 18 May 2026 | US$2 million in 4.5 months | D | The company's PR Newswire release says 'reaching $2 million in revenue in 4.5 months'. It says revenue, the blog says annual recurring revenue; the amount agrees. | [2] |
| Annual recurring revenue in the founders' October 2026 story | US$3 million | D | MilestoneWins story dated 14 October 2026 and signed by Chris Donnelly and Sam Hogan: '$3M ARR in ~5 months'. The same page's title says US$75,000 a month in recurring revenue, which is US$900,000 a year, so the page does not agree with itself. | [5] |
| Annual run rate from the MilestoneWins title | US$900,000 a year | calc | Calculated: US$75,000 times 12. This is below the US$2 million that the company stated in May 2026. | [5] |
| Paying customers, May 2026 | more than 500 | C | Founder's blog post. The release of the same day says 'nearly 1000 customers', which may count free users. | [1, 2] |
| Brands and agencies, November 2026 | more than 1,000 brands and 500 agencies | C | About page. The home page says 'Trusted by 12,000+ users'. | [4, 8] |
| Founding team, 2025 | 3 co-founders | C | Chris Donnelly, Sam Hogan and Arya Nagabhyru, named on the About page and in the September 2026 release. | [3, 4] |
| People listed on the About page, November 2026 | 44 | C | Counted on the page: the three co-founders, a chief technology officer and 40 other names. | [4] |
| Funding | US$4 million in December 2025 and US$14 million in May 2026 | C | About page timeline. The December round was led by Freestyle, the May round by Headline at an US$85 million valuation. The founders' MilestoneWins story calls the first round a EUR 3.4 million seed. | [1, 2, 4, 5] |
| Acquisition of Meridian, 21 September 2026 | a 'seven-figure deal' | C | Searchable's own release. Meridian Tech, Inc. of New York launched in October 2025; its customers move to Searchable's platform. | [3] |
| AI engines tracked | 10 | C | September 2026 release. Three are included in every plan; the rest are paid add-ons. | [3, 6] |
| Lowest paid plan | US$125 a month billed yearly | C | Pricing page, Pro plan, with a 14-day free trial. | [6] |
| Time from free beta to the May 2026 figure | 6 months | calc | Calculated: November 2025 to May 2026. From the opening of paid accounts in January 2026 it is about 4 months. | [1] |

How to read this table: a grade D value is a revenue claim by the company or its founders that no second, independent source confirms; a grade C value is another fact stated by the company on its own pages or in its own releases. A "calc" value was computed on this page. No value is grade A or B.

## When did Searchable launch, and how did it grow? Timeline

From a free beta in November 2025 to a funded company with three offices and an acquisition, in about 11 months. Each entry carries its grade.

- **2025** (grade C [2, 3]): Chris Donnelly, Sam Hogan and Arya Nagabhyru found Searchable in London and New York. Donnelly earlier ran the SEO agency Verb.
- **November 2025** (grade C [1]): A free beta opens.
- **December 2025** (grade C [4]): US$4 million in funding led by Freestyle.
- **January 2026** (grade C [1]): Searchable leaves beta and opens paid accounts to the public.
- **18 May 2026** (grade D [1, 2]): US$14 million led by Headline at an US$85 million valuation. The founder writes that annual recurring revenue is over US$2 million with more than 500 paying customers.
- **August 2026** (grade C [4]): An office opens in Salt Lake City.
- **21 September 2026** (grade C [3]): Searchable buys Meridian, a New York AI visibility startup, in what it calls a seven-figure deal. It says it works with over 1,000 brands.
- **14 October 2026** (grade D [5]): A story signed by the two co-founders on MilestoneWins states US$3 million in annual recurring revenue.
- **November 2026** (grade C [4]): The About page lists 44 people, 1,000 brands and 500 agencies.

## Why did Searchable work?

### An audience before the product

The founders' own story says Donnelly's years of posts about funnels, AI tools and growth meant that each launch post reached founders and marketers who already trusted him, and that a free AI visibility report went to people who commented on his posts. The founder wrote in May 2026 that most revenue so far came from the product and organic channels, not paid marketing.

### Early in a new category

Paid accounts opened in January 2026, when buyers were starting to ask how AI assistants describe their brand. The founder wrote that buying cycles were short: when a marketing chief saw the visibility data for the first time, the decision came quickly.

### From a dashboard to an agent

Many trackers stop at a report. Searchable added an AI agent that, the founder says, has 40 SEO and AI-search skills, plus audits and an article writer, so a plan includes work output and not only measurement. The plans are priced by tracked prompts, audits and articles.

### Funding after traction

Each round came after a revenue claim: the seed after the beta, and the US$14 million round after the stated US$2 million. The money paid for hiring, an office in Salt Lake City and the purchase of a competitor.

## How it was built

The company publishes little about its technical stack. These details come from its own pages and the founders' story and are grade C.

- The platform sends tracked prompts every day to ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, and to Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Google AI Mode and Meta Muse as paid add-ons, and stores the answers and citations.
- Integrations with Google Analytics, Google Search Console, HubSpot and Salesforce connect visibility with traffic and leads.
- The Content Studio researches top-ranking pages for a keyword, writes an outline and a full article with citations, and lets the user edit it before export to WordPress or Webflow, or as HTML or Markdown.
- An MCP server and an API let customers query their data from AI assistants; one customer quoted on the pricing page asks Claude for takeaways from his projects.

Sources: [6, 7, 8, 1]

## Who tried this before Searchable, and why did they fail?

Four companies in our database of failed startups promised to turn search or online chatter into marketing decisions and failed against larger platforms or ran out of money. The values below are from that database and are not independently verified.

The failed startups come from our database of dead startups, retold here in our own words; Its entries are AI-assisted summaries of public sources, so they carry no evidence grade.

### Salorix (2009 to 2014; funding US$3.3M; cause: Ran Out of Cash)

- Promise: AI analysis of social media conversation, sold to brands as marketing insight.
- Why it died: Investors stopped funding it as leaner AI startups competed, and its finances were weak.
- Record: 

### Canopy Labs (2012 to 2015; funding US$2.5M; cause: Competition)

- Promise: Predictive analytics that turned marketers' customer data into revenue.
- Why it died: It could not compete with Salesforce and other large suites, and its data operations were costly.
- Record: 

### Pressly (2011 to 2018; funding US$2.9M; cause: Competition)

- Promise: A platform for content curation that kept brands visible with less effort.
- Why it died: Larger competitors offered full content suites, and Pressly stayed a basic curation tool.
- Record: 

### Ask Jeeves (1996 to 2007; funding US$50M; cause: Competition)

- Promise: Search by asking a question in plain language instead of typing keywords.
- Why it died: Human editors could not keep up with billions of pages, and Google's ranking by links won.
- Record: 

## What changed

Salorix and Canopy Labs sold analytics to marketers and lost to large suites that added the same reports. Pressly sold content help and lost to fuller tools. Ask Jeeves bet on questions in plain language twenty years before AI assistants made that the normal way to search. The risk for Searchable is the same: the SEO suites it compares itself with, Semrush and Ahrefs, sell their own AI visibility reports.

Two things differ. The questions now go to several AI engines whose answers change daily, so the measurement itself needs software that runs every day, and no single search company owns all the engines. And the company says it sells work, through an agent and an article writer, not only reports. Whether that protects it from the large suites is not shown by any source yet.

## Can one person copy Searchable now?

**Verdict: The start, partly. The scale, no.**

A solo founder can build an AI answer tracker: it is a scheduler that sends prompts to model APIs and stores the answers. The site already has several small ones. The speed of Searchable came from a founder with an SEO agency background and a large audience, and from US$18 million of venture money, which a solo founder does not have.

1. Pick one market whose buyers ask AI assistants for recommendations, and track a fixed set of their questions every day.
2. Give away a free visibility report that shows where competitors are named instead of the customer.
3. Sell the next step, an audit or an article draft that the customer reviews, and price it by usage.
4. Post the results publicly to the audience that buys from you.

**What is still open.** Narrow versions for one industry or one country, where a general platform tracks too few of the questions that matter, and tools that check what AI shopping agents say about a store's products.

## What could go wrong for Searchable?

- **What is not verified.** The headline rests on one company claim of one day, 18 May 2026, made in two company texts: the founder's blog post and the company's press release of 18 May 2026 (over US$2 million), and a story that the co-founders submitted to MilestoneWins, dated 14 October 2026 (US$3 million). That page's title says US$75,000 a month in recurring revenue, which is about US$900,000 a year and does not match. The May release says 'revenue', the blog says 'annual recurring revenue'. No payment processor, filing or investor statement confirms a figure. A reader could look for a payment-processor profile, a Companies House filing for Searchable Limited, or an investor statement with a revenue number.
- **No longer a small team.** Searchable started with three co-founders in 2025. After US$4 million in December 2025 and US$14 million in May 2026, the About page listed 44 people in November 2026, in London, New York and Salt Lake City. The company also calls itself US-based and incorporated in Delaware in its May release, while the site names Searchable Limited, a UK company.
- **Competition.** Other AI-visibility stories on this site, such as Rank Prompt, AI Peekaboo, BrandAxis and Promptmonitor track AI answers with far smaller teams and far smaller figures; meanwhile Searchable compares itself with Semrush, Ahrefs and Profound, and the founders' story names Peec AI, which it says raised EUR 18 million.
- **Dependence on the AI engines.** The product measures answers from ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and other engines that Searchable does not control. If a provider changes its answers, limits automated queries or sells the same visibility data itself, the core measurement changes. The sources do not say how the company queries each engine.
- **Content at scale and the demo data.** The Content Studio page says 'AI-optimized content at scale' and the plans include 20 to 200 articles a month. The page describes a workflow where the user reviews and edits each article before export; it does not offer automatic publishing. The home page demo uses the real bicycle brand Specialized with a sample user named Sarah Chen, and customer results such as 'GBP 1m+ pipeline' are customer outcomes, not Searchable's revenue.

## Sources

1. Searchable blog, Chris Donnelly, 18 May 2026: Searchable just raised $14M. Here's what actually happened. — https://www.searchable.com/blog/searchable-raised-14m-seed-round (grade D). Read in full. Founder's own post. Source for the beta and paid launch dates, the US$2 million figure, the 500 paying customers and the co-founders.
2. PR Newswire, 18 May 2026: Searchable secures $14M from Headline at $85M valuation as AI reshapes how customers are searching and buying — https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/searchable-secures-14m-from-headline-at-85m-valuation-as-ai-reshapes-how-customers-are-searching-and-buying-302774547.html (grade D). Read in full. The company's own release. Source for the round, the valuation, the revenue in 4.5 months and the Verb background.
3. PR Newswire, 21 September 2026: AI visibility platform Searchable acquires New York's Meridian in seven-figure deal — https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-visibility-platform-searchable-acquires-new-yorks-meridian-in-seven-figure-deal-302883134.html (grade C). Read in full. The company's own release. Source for the founding in late 2025, the three co-founders, the 1,000 brands and the 10 engines.
4. Searchable, About page, read 5 November 2026 — https://www.searchable.com/about (grade C). Read in full. Source for the founders, the 44 listed people, the funding timeline, the offices and the brand and agency counts.
5. MilestoneWins, 14 October 2026: How Searchable hit $75k MRR: the serial founder riding the AI search wave — https://milestonewins.com/stories/searchable-story/ (grade D). Read in full. A story signed by Chris Donnelly and Sam Hogan. Source for the US$3 million figure, the seed in euros and the LinkedIn audience and free report.
6. Searchable, pricing page, read 5 November 2026 — https://www.searchable.com/pricing (grade C). Read the brand plans and the plan comparison. Source for the prices, limits and engine add-ons.
7. Searchable, Content Studio feature page, read 5 November 2026 — https://www.searchable.com/features/content (grade C). Read in full. Source for the article workflow, the review step and the export options.
8. Searchable, home page, read 5 November 2026 — https://www.searchable.com/ (grade C). Read in full. Source for the product description, the integrations, the user count and the demo data.
9. Database of failed startups, local export — /method/#dead (grade C). Local export. AI-written summaries, not independently verified. Source for the failed predecessors.

Contact: aiolum@livyden.com. Run Searchable? Send corrections or a verified figure to aiolum@livyden.com (subject: Correction: Searchable).