Manifest, an AI-powered operational intelligence platform for agencies, has today announced its launch alongside a $2 million pre-seed round led by Brand Fund by Previously Unavailable.
In a release, Manigest said it “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 truly costs to deliver.
The startup said that it is built for a world rapidly shifting underneath agencies’ feet, where value cannot be tracked with head-hour or commission-based pricing models.
“Agencies are operating on a model that no longer reflects how work happens,” said Freddie McKenzie, CEO and co-founder of Manifest, which has no relation to the global agency group beyond the name.
“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 co-founded Manifest with Henry Collinson, a product leader and long-time collaborator, after the pair identified the same problem during COVID-era experimentation with new ways of working.
Completing the Kiwi leadership team is CTO Tom Reid, an ex-Microsoft AI veteran who led development of Manifest’s proprietary AI model, with a strong focus on privacy and enterprise-grade security.
Co-CEO of Previously Unavailable, and GP of Brand Fund, Simon Pound, said: “Manifest solves a massive problem for services businesses: how do you track, value and charge for work in an AI-enabled world? We love how the team is building, their customer-centricity, and the scale of the problem they’re tackling.”
Manifest said it can replace manual inputs with “real-time operational data” to give agencies “a new foundation” for decision-making that reflects the value and effort of human and AI work.
The result, it added, will shift agencies from fragmented workflows to connected, measurable systems, from billing for inputs to pricing for outcomes, and from retrospective reporting to real-time visibility.
Industry investors backing Manifest include Henry Innis (Mutinex), Mark Coad (ex-IPG Mediabrands CEO), Jamie Mackay (BWM Dentsu), Jonathan Isaacs (Taboo Group), James Hutchinson (Sling & Stone), Jordan Taylor-Bartels (Prophet), Connon Bray (TRA/Tracksuit/Ideally) and Tim Burrowes (Mumbrella).
Mutinex co-founder Henry Innis said the opportunity is well understood across the industry: “The problem of agency return on effort is well known, and one Matt Farrugia and I experienced firsth-and at WPP. Getting to know the team has been a thrill. I couldn’t be more excited to support them at this early stage and help bring together such a strong group of investors around the business.”
Manifest is currently rolling out with a cohort of agencies across Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, with customer announcements to follow and plans for global expansion underway.
