Azoma Raises £8m to Help Brands Get Recommended by AI Shopping Agents

Imagine asking an AI assistant which skincare product to buy, or which household cleaner offers the best value. Instead of browsing dozens of websites, you receive a shortlist of recommendations. For consumer brands, appearing in that answer could become as important as ranking on Google.

London-founded startup Azoma has raised an £8 million Series A, equivalent to approximately $11.2 million, to help brands improve their visibility across AI-powered shopping tools. The round was led by Puma Growth Partners, with participation from dunnhumby, Twin Path, MaRS IAF, Rank Ventures, Ignite Ventures and angel investors connected to Google DeepMind and Legora.

Founded in 2022 by former Amazon executive Max Sinclair and machine learning researcher Timur Luguev, Azoma develops software that helps brands understand how AI systems discover, interpret and recommend their products.

Its platform monitors product visibility across tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Amazon's Alexa for Shopping and Walmart's Sparky. It then helps companies improve product information and other online content that may influence AI recommendations.

Where will the £8m go?

Azoma plans to expand its platform across emerging personal AI assistants, strengthen its optimisation and attribution capabilities, and recruit more AI specialists.

Attribution is particularly important for brands. Being mentioned by an AI assistant is useful, but businesses also need to understand whether that visibility leads to website visits, purchases and revenue.

The company works with major consumer brands including L'Oréal, Unilever, Mars, Beiersdorf and Reckitt. It reports that revenue grew almost tenfold over the past year, while its team expanded from 12 to 40 people across London and Toronto.

The latest round follows a $4 million seed raise announced in December 2025.

Why this funding matters

The way consumers discover products is changing. Traditional search engines, online marketplaces and social media have shaped digital marketing for years. AI assistants introduce another layer, where a system may compare products and recommend a small selection rather than simply present a list of links.

That creates a new challenge for marketing teams. Brands need accurate product information, useful content and credible sources that AI systems can interpret. They also need ways to measure whether their efforts are making a commercial difference.

Azoma is positioning itself around this emerging market, often called agentic commerce optimisation. The opportunity is significant, but the field is still developing. AI shopping tools differ in how they select information, and brands cannot assume that better visibility will automatically translate into sales.

For founders, Azoma's funding highlights how new technology can create demand for an entirely new category of business software. As customer behaviour changes, companies that help established businesses adapt may find opportunities of their own.

The next test will be whether Azoma can turn early traction into lasting growth as more AI assistants enter the shopping journey.

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Do you think AI shopping assistants will become a major sales channel for brands, or will traditional search and online marketplaces remain dominant?