Sequen raises $16M to deliver TikTok-style personalization to consumer brands

Zoë Weil drove a billion-dollar surge in gross merchandise volume at Etsy in one year by optimizing AI ranking systems. Now, with Sequen, she and her co-founders are applying their extensive AI research and product expertise to empower consumer businesses.

Having secured $16 million in Series A funding, Sequen provides real-time personalization and ranking infrastructure. This technology, previously accessible only to tech giants due to their massive datasets, is now available to other large consumer enterprises.

While the general public may not grasp the technical details, anyone who has used apps like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube has experienced these systems firsthand.

Sequen CEO Zoë Weil explains, “Modern tech no longer just recommends content; it subtly shapes your desires over time. The algorithms are so advanced that many users suspect platforms are eavesdropping on their conversations,” she notes.

Weil attributes this capability to Large Event Models. Unlike Large Language Models (LLMs) that process text, Large Event Models analyze streams of events and human behavior, offering applications beyond mere algorithmic improvement.

Image Credits:Sequen

Weil envisions Sequen eventually replacing cookies—a tracking method that raises privacy concerns and faces regulation—by offering a more ethical alternative for personalizing web experiences.

“Our large event models learn from live user actions, including hovers and conversations within a session, rather than relying on static profiles or third-party cookies,” Weil states. “This enables real-time personalization even with sparse data. We’re not just unlocking TikTok’s algorithms for Fortune 500 companies lacking the infrastructure; we’re advancing the technology further,” she adds.

Sequen clients integrate with the RankTune platform via APIs, accessing frontier and real-time ranking models. Since most customers already use in-house APIs for relevance, they simply swap them for Sequen’s solution.

Unlike cookies, Sequen’s technology is less privacy-invasive because it relies on real-time data without needing user identity. It also delivers sub-20 millisecond decision-making speeds.

“Our large event models generalize real-time event streams regardless of who performs them,” Weil explains. “They understand and interpret events without relying on user identity, making personalization completely identity-agnostic.”

Image Credits:Sequen

Despite its privacy-forward design, Sequen delivers significant revenue growth. Weil highlights a large furniture company that saw a 7% revenue lift after switching, compared to a typical 0.4% gain. Fetch Rewards achieved a 20% net revenue increase in under 11 days. The startup is also partnering with a streaming media firm and an online travel agency.

Pricing is based on requests per second (RPS), with tiers offering up to 500 or 1,000 RPS and volume discounts. Initial contracts with the first five customers are valued in the seven figures.

“Customers consistently choose the highest tier because, once they see results in one area, they want to deploy us across their entire platform,” Weil observes.

Weil began her career in research but shifted to product development, helping companies build ranking systems to generate business value. This experience paved the way for founding Sequen.

In less than 18 months, Sequen has processed approximately 10 billion monthly requests and secured contracts with several Fortune 500 companies. The company offers proprietary technology, including large event models, ranking algorithms, and more.

Weil is joined by Ethan Benjamin, a former Etsy colleague, and co-founders Mo Afsharr and Alexander Thom. Raphael Louca, formerly of Meta, recently joined as Chief Product Officer. The 14-person New York-based team includes talent from DeepMind, Meta, and Anthropic.

Sequen’s Series A was co-led by White Star Capital and Threshold Ventures, with participation from prior investors like Greycroft, which led the seed round. Total funding to date stands at $22 million.