Simaia raises pre-seed via Iterative to help brands get cited by AI search
What's the deal? SimaiaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an AI-native marketing team focused on generative engine optimisation (GEO), has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round through its acceptance into IterativeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s S26 batch, following an earlier angel round. Iterative led the round.
What does it do? Simaia helps companies across the Asia-Pacific region get recommended inside AI search. It audits how buyers query ChatGPT, Gemini, ClaudeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview, then writes and distributes content designed to get brands cited in those answers.
How it works: The service splits into two functions. One scans a client's category across the five major models and ranks the third-party sources those models trust; the other writes blog content, places press releases, and posts to favoured channels, pacing volume against Google Search ConsoleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → data. When an AI referral converts to a visit, Simaia identifies the contact and hands the record to the client's sales team. Plans start at $800 per month.
Why now? Buyers increasingly research vendors through conversational AI rather than traditional search. Research published by ahrefsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in early 2026 found AI Overviews cut clicks to top-ranking content by 58% in some query categories, leaving firms reliant on SEO, outbound, and trade shows blind to whether they appear in AI answers at all.
The traction: Simaia reports customers across six countries — China, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the United States — seeing inbound leads rise three-to-fivefold within two months, a 90% retention rate, and double-digit month-on-month company growth. In one case study, a manufacturing client went from one lead every three months to 10 per month.
What's next? "Iterative's backing lets us keep that going across the six markets we already serve," said chief executive officer and co-founder Ryan Wan. "We will be expanding to other markets too."
The signal: As AI answers displace the search click, a new marketing layer is forming around being cited rather than ranked. Simaia is an early bet that GEO becomes a standing function — and that the shift is sharpest in markets where AI-first buying is already reshaping demand.
Read more: AB Newswire
Image credit: Serpstat
