Marketing startup Pie attracts latest investor: AmEx Ventures

Marketing startup Pie has a new investor: AmEx Ventures, the corporate venture-capital arm of American Express, the company exclusively told Marketing Brew.

Pie, a marketing and growth platform for small businesses, emerged from stealth in June with a $19.5 million Series A funding round, with participation from investors like Capital One Ventures. Its services span campaign management, including automatic modifications to campaigns that are designed to aid performance. Pie also includes an AI search product that seeks to optimize brands’ presence in AI search. Pie’s clients include Supercuts, Massage Envy, and European Wax Center, according to its website. (The company should not be confused with the social networking and events platform that shares the same name.)

“We built Pie for how small businesses actually operate, meeting them where they are and taking a revenue-first approach to growth,” Syed Ali, Pie’s CEO and co-founder, said in a press release. “The investment from AmEx Ventures will help us accelerate that mission and reach more of the businesses that power local economies across the country.”

Pie declined to name the amount of the AmEx Ventures investment.

Zoom out: To help drive growth, Pie is relying on brand partnerships with software platforms that are already used by small businesses. The company recently partnered with MoeGo, a growth platform that serves pet-care businesses, which embedded Pie’s tools.

Pie’s debut comes at a time when brands are scrambling to stay visible as AI transforms best practices around search engine optimization. Startups like Profound and AthenaHQ have also sprung up to help brands with search or appear in AI responses.