Agentic AI startup AMT aims to be ‘Google Adwords for influencers,’ raises seed round

Agentic AI startup AMT aims to be ‘Google Adwords for influencers,’ raises seed round

  • 19.03.2025 05:49
  • techcrunch.com
  • Keywords: AI, Startup

Agentic AI startup AMT uses AI chatbots to streamline influencer marketing, automating tasks like campaign booking and analytics. Backed by $3.5M in seed funding led by NFX, AMT aims to replace manual processes with efficient AI-driven solutions.

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Estimated market influence

AMT

Positivesentiment_satisfied
Analyst rating: N/A

Raised $3.5 million in seed funding to develop AI-driven influencer marketing platform; aims to disrupt traditional ad/marketing agency model by automating influencer engagement through its AI agent Lyra.

NFX

Positivesentiment_satisfied
Analyst rating: N/A

Led the seed funding round for AMT, investing $3.5 million.

Context

Analysis of AMT's Agentic AI Startup in Influencer Marketing

Company Overview

  • AMT is an AI-driven startup aiming to revolutionize influencer marketing by automating tasks through its AI agent, Lyra.
  • Raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by NFX, with additional investments from angel investors.
  • Relocated from London to San Francisco.

Key Innovations

  • Lyra: An AI chatbot capable of natural language interactions with influencers for tasks like campaign booking, tracking, payments, and queries.
  • Uses multiple AI models:
    • OpenAI for general use.
    • Google’s Gemini for multimodal analysis (e.g., video content).
    • Hume AI for tone detection.

Market Opportunity

  • Influencer marketing market projected to grow significantly (exact figures not provided in text).
  • Traditional SaaS platforms like GRIN, Upfluence, ShopMy, and Agentio require extensive human involvement and charge by seat.
  • AMT’s platform reduces manual work:
    • 9 hours of manual effort for influencer partnerships vs. 5 minutes with AMT.

Competitive Landscape

  • AMT disrupts the traditional ad/marketing agency model, which relies on hiring large teams to manage campaigns.
  • Co-founder Tom Hollands highlights inefficiencies in scaling influencer marketing through human labor.

Strategic Considerations

  • AI’s ability to analyze and personalize influencer content creates a unique value proposition.
  • Lyra can maintain relationships with influencers across multiple brands, mimicking the role of a partnerships manager.

Long-Term Implications

  • AI is reshaping marketing industries, with AMT positioned as an inevitable part of the marketing stack for brands worldwide (according to NFX’s Pete Flint).
  • Potential regulatory impacts may arise from data usage and AI-driven decision-making in influencer campaigns.

This analysis highlights AMT's potential to transform influencer marketing through AI automation, offering significant efficiency gains over traditional methods while addressing scalability challenges.