Peec, one of Berlin’s growing startups, doubled annual revenue in months to $10M, sources say

One of Berlin’s rising star, early-stage startups, Peec AI, recently surpassed $10 million in annual revenue, according to internal dashboard data seen and verified by TechCrunch.

Peec AI raised a Series A of 21 million six months ago. Although CEO Marius Meiners wouldn’t reveal its valuation at the time (only saying it was more than $100 million), he said the startup had raised more than $4 million in revenue in the 10 months since launch.

So, it has doubled its revenue trajectory, and at a faster pace.

Peec helps brands track and improve their visibility in AI search. While based in Berlin, it recently opened an office in New York.

It also serves as evidence of one of the most important market changes taking place in the European technology space.

“Innovators these days track money very closely,” Antler partner Christoph Klink was telling me a few days ago. Sitting in a hotel lobby during a week full of tech ecosystem events, the Berlin-based VC casually mentioned Peec AI as one of the most successful companies in his portfolio, alongside Lovable and others.

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

After learning the lessons from the 2021 crash and the painful return that followed, investors now know that income cannot be an afterthought. The result is that it’s not something you can check every few weeks, Klink told me.

Startups now often continue to use dashboards for revenue growth, sometimes – as in the case of Peec – visible to all employees.

For some inventors, this has required some adjustment; but others are just born for this new cycle.

Peec AI’s product takes a similar approach to SEO dashboards, except that it helps brands track search engine optimization (GEO) – visualizing what comes up when users type a certain set of information into ChatGPT and the like.

But as Meiners told me at the time, he is also an athlete who was once among the top 100 players of League of Legends. This explains why he would share the revenue tracker with the rest of his company: his background gave him a unique take on what makes a winning team.

Talent is the first ingredient, and Peec AI took a new approach to recruitment in Berlin’s competitive market.

Like many startups in the Bay Area, but very few in Europe, it has invested in boards to position itself not only to potential customers, but also to applicants. In our interview, Klink recalled with a smile that these billboards were often placed in front of other technology companies throughout the city.

What those boards say may be different, but it’s part of the narrative that tries to position Peec AI as a company to jump on board with. According to Klink, this signing is very important in the current cycle of AI, where companies and investors are involved in emerging trends – such as AI search.

This bet on undercurrents applies to many of the startups that Klink has invested in, which is why he understands why portfolio companies like Peec AI – and Lovable – not only track ARR, but also sometimes publicly disclose revenue events despite not having to do so at all.

“That’s a way to show that it works,” Klink said. “It also shows the focus on growth that sets the culture.”