HubSpot acquires 10-month-old Israeli AI startup XFunnel in first local deal

HubSpot has announced the acquisition of XFunnel, a 10-month-old Israeli startup developing tools to help marketers adapt to the rise of AI-driven search and “answer engines.” The deal marks HubSpot’s first acquisition in Israel.

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Founded less than a year ago by Beeri Amiel and Neri Bluman, XFunnel was built around a simple premise: marketing teams needed a new set of tools to operate in a world where customers no longer search but ask, and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity deliver the answers directly.

XFunnel founders.

“Marketing is shifting from traditional workflows to AI-native operations,” Bluman wrote on LinkedIn, noting that XFunnel’s early mission was to understand “how marketing actually works in the AI age - not the hype, not the theory.”

According to both companies, the relationship between HubSpot and XFunnel began when HubSpot approached the startup as a potential customer. That initial contact evolved into an investment, and ultimately, an acquisition agreement. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

HubSpot, valued at around $26 billion, said the deal is part of its broader initiative known as Loop Marketing, a new playbook designed to help companies “attract, engage, and convert customers” across AI-powered platforms. The company noted that AI-driven leads now convert three times better than traditional search leads.

“People now get answers straight from large language models, and that shift has made Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) essential,” HubSpot said in a blog post. XFunnel’s technology helps brands monitor and improve how they appear in AI-generated responses.

Angela DeFranco, HubSpot’s GM and VP of Product for Marketing Hub, said the acquisition will give marketers better visibility into how their brand appears across AI systems. “As AI changes how people find and engage with businesses, we want to make that shift easier to navigate for our customers,” she said.

For XFunnel, the acquisition caps a remarkably fast trajectory. Founded just ten months ago, the startup launched its first customer partnerships only six months after its inception. The company’s co-founders said the rise of AI tools had “triggered a shift that is changing the way marketing is done at an unprecedented pace.”

In a statement on the XFunnel website, Amiel and Bluman described their alignment with HubSpot as “a partnership to continue building the future of marketing together.” They highlighted their shared focus on Answer Engine Optimization, the emerging discipline focused on ensuring brands appear effectively in AI-generated answers.

Bluman added that joining HubSpot will enable the team to pursue its mission “on the largest stage,” leveraging the company’s scale, with more than 270,000 businesses using its platform, to embed AI deeply into marketing workflows.