Ideally.
Startup Ideally, founded in New Zealand in 2023, has raised $13.4 million in series A funding to be used to upgrade the AI-powered market research platform.
The round, led by Shearwater Capital with support from Altered Capital, Icehouse Ventures and Ecliptic VC, sees the startup valued at more than $83 million.
"When we started Ideally, we saw an industry that needed fixing. Market research hasn't kept pace with the modern marketer, and brands are drowning in data but starved of insight they can actually use," said Ideally CEO James Donald.
"So we built something different: real human insight, fast enough to fuel creativity, accessible enough for every team doing the work. When insight moves at the pace of creativity, braver ideas get made and better work follows.
“Our goal is to put real consumer understanding at the heart of every decision, and with our new partners behind us, we're ready to take that to every market that needs it.”
More than 250 brands across APAC and the US use Ideally.
“Ideally has changed how our marketing team walks into a room. In a field where everyone has an opinion, it gives us the evidence to back our instincts and move with confidence,” said Bupa Australia’s head of marketing, digital health, Lauren Nikolareas.
“We’ve used it across pricing, proposition and creative concept testing, and shaping how we bring ideas to market. It’s fast, intuitive, and it brings the customer into conversations where they simply weren’t before. You can’t argue with evidence.”
Ideally opened a New York office in early 2026 and has since grown US revenue by 350%, with customers including Duckhorn, Tilray and Rémy Cointreau.
"Ideally has taken what was a long, expensive, waterfall research process and rebuilt it as something fast, iterative, and accessible,” said Shearwater Capital managing partner, Zac Zavos.
“Once marketers experience the speed of overnight responses, it becomes indispensable.”
“What impresses us most is how every aspect of this business has been built around customer delight, and the pace at which they've scaled revenue, customers, and team since inception reflects that. They're moving fast and building the category as they go.”
Alongside the raise, Ideally is launching Ideally Canvas, a product that gives brands a living, continuously updated picture of their consumer rather than a static snapshot.
Every study feeds a compounding dataset that builds over time, helping teams understand what consumers want more of, what is missing in their category, and which creative directions are likely to resonate.
“Consumer sentiment moves in dog years these days. The biggest risk in marketing is making a bold call based on who your customer was half a year ago, let alone 18 months ago. Better decisions come from understanding how people are thinking, feeling and behaving right now, not relying on yesterday’s assumptions,” Donald said.
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