FancyAI, an Austin, TX-based provider of a generative engine optimization platform, has received an investment from The Shipyard.
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The company plans to use the funds to grow its business and develop its products.
The investment shows The Shipyard’s commitment to innovation, choosing to lead rather than follow. The agency has a history of investing in strategic partnerships and technology to deliver modern, evolving products that maximize the impact of every marketing dollar.
The investment follows The Shipyard’s recent acquisitions of TinyWins, a global feelings studio; Fahlgren Mortine, a two-time PRSA Silver Anvil Agency of the Year winner; and Turner PR, a travel and lifestyle specialist—further enhancing its business model.
The Shipyard, known for its Engineering Brand Love approach, focuses on building strong brands that outperform the market. Adding FancyAI’s GEO technology helps the agency’s clients not just succeed today, but also stay visible, recommended, and trusted in the future.
Becoming a leader in Generative Engine Optimization is a key part of The Shipyard’s long-term plan, which combines top-paid, earned, and owned marketing capabilities into one integrated model. This platform adds the next important layer, using proprietary technology to help clients confidently succeed in a generative-first future.
As consumers move from traditional search engines to AI-driven platforms, appearing in AI-generated recommendations is becoming increasingly important for building a brand. For people to love your brand, AI must recognize it positively. The platform is designed to shape how brands are seen, ranked, and recommended by AI, giving insights to improve performance in generative search.
As people move from traditional search engines to AI-generated answers, recommendations, and summaries, brands must ask: how and where will we be discovered when search looks different? This new platform answers that question, offering insights for earned media, influencer strategy, paid content, digital presence, and platform priorities.
The Shipyard has started using FancyAI’s technology internally and with select clients, applying it to guide work across paid, earned, and owned channels. The agency is adapting and improving the platform to meet real-world, real-time client needs.
The Shipyard’s success comes from removing traditional agency silos, enabling smooth collaboration across areas, and providing smarter, more connected solutions. Using FancyAI makes this model even stronger by combining brand, performance, communications, and technology into one future-ready service.
“The future of brand discovery is changing in real time,” said Rick Milenthal, Chairman & CEO of The Shipyard. “This speeds up our business strategy: we’ve always believed the agency of the future should be fully integrated, tech-enabled, and ready to guide clients forward. This investment is a big step toward that goal.”
“Our clients don’t need agencies that just react to change,” added Milenthal. “They need partners who act early, learn quickly, and lead with confidence. That’s exactly what this investment provides.”
“AI search discovery is now the main way brands are found, evaluated, and chosen,” said Tom Howell, CEO of FancyAI. “Most companies don’t know how they show up in AI-generated answers—or if they show up at all. FancyAI was created to make AI search discovery clear, measurable, and controllable for brands. The Shipyard knows this change isn’t coming in the future—it’s already happening.”
About The Shipyard
Founded in 2014 by Rick Milenthal, with offices in Columbus and San Diego, The Shipyard brings together experts in creative, communications, media, and digital work to build brands audiences love. The agency is designed to “Engineer Brand Love” by uniting paid, owned, and earned channels.
About FancyAI
Founded by CEO Tom Howell, FancyAI is a leading Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform. Its patent-pending technology helps brands understand, influence, and improve how they appear and are recommended in AI-powered search and recommendation systems. As consumer discovery moves from links to AI-generated answers, FancyAI gives brands the tools and insights to compete, making AI visibility measurable, actionable, and scalable.
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