Manifest, an AI-powered operational intelligence platform for agencies, has launched alongside a $2 million pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Brand Fund by Previously Unavailable, an early investor in Tracksuit, Ideally, and Appetise, with participation from Antler, Icehouse Ventures, Techstars, Huljich & Bhatnagar Family Offices, and a group of industry angels.
The platform automatically captures how work happens across teams, tools and AI, mapping time, effort and workflows in real time. This provides a continuous, accurate view of agency operations, enabling leaders to understand where work is created, how it flows, and what it costs to deliver.
“Agencies are operating on a model that no longer reflects how work happens,” said Freddie McKenzie, CEO and Co-Founder of Manifest.
“As agencies adopt AI, the gap between how work actually happens and how it’s measured is widening. You can’t price or optimise for outcomes if you’re still only measuring self-reported hours.”
McKenzie previously built and exited Auckland-based creative production company VIVID Creative. He co-founded Manifest with Henry Collinson, a product leader and long-time collaborator, after the pair identified the problem during COVID-era experimentation with new ways of working.
The company’s leadership team is completed by CTO Tom Reid, an ex-Microsoft AI veteran who led development of Manifest’s proprietary AI model, with a focus on privacy and enterprise-grade security.
“Manifest solves a massive problem for services businesses: how do you track, value and charge for work in an AI-enabled world?” said Simon Pound, Co-CEO of Previously Unavailable and GP of Brand Fund.
“We love how the team is building, their customer-centricity, and the scale of the problem they’re tackling.”
