Toronto-based technology company Senso is set to be acquired by New York-based marketing platform Zeta Global, in a deal that would bring its technology and team into the buyer’s operations.
BetaKit reported that Zeta has agreed to the acquisition, with no purchase price disclosed. Senso co-founder and chief executive Saroop Bharwani will join Zeta alongside the company’s team, adding engineering talent, according to Zeta’s announcement.
The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. Senso’s technology was already powering Zeta’s generative engine optimization offering, which helps businesses assess and improve how they appear in answers generated by search and conversational platforms.
Zeta said bringing that technology in-house would strengthen its trust and discoverability offerings. The company pointed to the growing role of platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google’s generated search overviews in helping customers find brands.
In a statement cited by BetaKit, Bharwani said combining Senso’s capabilities with Zeta’s proprietary data and customer intelligence would help businesses understand whom those platforms reach, improve their appearance in generated answers and connect that information to measurable results.
From credit-union tools to search discovery
Bharwani and chief technology officer Thomas Nelson founded Senso in 2017. The Toronto company initially developed predictive intelligence tools for financial institutions, particularly credit unions, to help them retain customers.
Its path to the acquisition included a period of uncertainty. In a LinkedIn post following the deal announcement, Bharwani said he had questioned in 2022 whether the company would survive, according to BetaKit.
Senso joined Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator in 2024. Less than a year later, it introduced a generative engine optimization tool aimed at helping credit unions become easier to find and assess how information about them appeared on newer search platforms.
The acquisition comes as marketers examine how consumers use conversational tools alongside traditional search engines. BetaKit cited a study released earlier this year by search-marketing agency Eight Oh Two that found 37 per cent of consumers used generative tools to start a web search rather than a conventional search engine.
The same study found that 47 per cent used those tools to help make a purchase decision. Zeta’s stated aim is to use Senso’s technology to help businesses understand and improve their presence in that discovery process.
