Pie raises $19.5M to keep small firms visible in AI search

This article was published on July 1, 2026 The New York startup, out of stealth with a Lightspeed-led round, helps local businesses get found on ChatGPT, Google Maps, and Yelp, and answers their phones with AI. It undercuts the agencies it wants to replace. For 30 years, small businesses fought to rank on Google. Now their customers are asking ChatGPT instead. A New York startup wants to make sure the local salon still shows up. The startup is Pie, and it has just stepped out of stealth with money to match its pitch. It raised a $19.5mn Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, taking total funding to $23.7mn, it said. Capital One Ventures, Max Levchin’s SciFi VC, F-Prime, and others joined the round. Pie sells growth tools to what it calls Main Street businesses. Think the nail salon, the auto-repair shop, the local gym. Its bet is simple. Customer discovery is moving fast, from Google’s blue links to AI answers. Most small firms have no idea how to keep up. The platform has three parts. AI Search tries to surface a business when someone asks ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity for a recommendation. Growth chases customers on high-intent channels like Google Maps, Yelp, and Nextdoor