Handraise is a technology company.
Handraise has raised $6.0M across 1 funding round.
Handraise has raised $6.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Handraise is an Austin-based technology company founded in 2023 that builds an AI-powered platform for Reputation Engineering™, unifying narrative intelligence, media signals, and machine interpretation to help enterprise communications teams spot emerging narratives, identify risks and opportunities, and shape their brand story in real time.[1][2][4][5] It serves Fortune 500 organizations and leading enterprise brands in public relations, corporate affairs, and reputation management, solving the problem of fragmented, outdated tools by providing a single system for instant insights into how media, AI, and audiences perceive their reputation.[1][3][5] Backed by a $6.4M seed round led by Silverton Partners in November 2023, Handraise demonstrates strong early momentum with investors like Mike Maples Jr. on its board and a team experienced in building PR analytics platforms like TrendKite and Cision.[1][4]
Handraise was founded in 2023 by Matt Allison, who brings 15 years of experience from TrendKite (acquired by Cision) to advising global brands, establishing Reputation Engineering™ as the next evolution in PR analytics.[1][2][4] The idea emerged from recognizing that reputation is increasingly dynamic in the AI era, with teams relying on slow, fragmented tools unfit for real-time narrative tracking across media and machines.[1][5] Early traction came swiftly: just months after launch, Handraise closed a $6.4M seed round in November 2023 led by Silverton Partners, with board support from figures like Mike Maples Jr., signaling validation in Austin's vibrant startup ecosystem via networks like Capital Factory.[1][4][6] Key hires like CTO David Perdue and a leadership team from category-defining enterprise software companies pivoted the focus toward AI-native tools for enterprise-scale reputation management.[1]
Handraise stands out in the crowded PR tech space through these key strengths:
Handraise rides the AI-driven transformation of public relations and reputation management, where narratives form instantly across media, social, and large language models (LLMs), making traditional tools obsolete.[1][5] Timing is ideal amid rising AI adoption—enterprises need tools to counter "blind spots" in machine-generated summaries and viral risks, amplified by market forces like generative AI's influence on public perception and regulatory scrutiny on brand trust.[1][4][5] By enabling "narrative intelligence," Handraise influences the ecosystem, empowering comms leaders at global brands to shape AI-era stories, much like early analytics firms defined modern PR; its inclusion in CB Insights' AI Expert Collection underscores its fit in the 9,000+ company AI wave.[4]
Handraise is poised to redefine Reputation Engineering as AI reshapes media and trust, with expansion into more Fortune 500 clients and deeper LLM integration driving growth beyond its seed stage.[1][4][5] Trends like real-time AI monitoring and executive dashboards will propel it, potentially capturing share from legacy players like Muck Rack amid enterprise demand for unified intelligence.[2][4] Its influence could evolve into a category leader, equipping brands to not just monitor but engineer narratives in an always-on world—transforming fragmented PR into a strategic superpower, much like its mission promises: clarity in the moments that matter.[1]
Handraise has raised $6.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Handraise's investors include Amplify.LA, AperiamVentures, A'Z Angels, Floodgate, Infinity Ventures, Lux Capital, Silverton Partners, Uncork Capital, Michael Ma.
Handraise has raised $6.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $6.0M Seed in November 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2023 | $6.0M Seed | Amplify.LA, AperiamVentures, A'Z Angels, Floodgate, Infinity Ventures, Lux Capital, Silverton Partners, Uncork Capital, Michael Ma |