From towns of 1,000 people to Silicon Valley: Rankad’s 20 & 23 year old founders land a spot among 25 startups chosen from 3,500 applicants at The Residency.
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN, March 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Rankad, an AI visibility startup founded in Sweden, has been accepted into The Residency, one of Silicon Valley’s most selective startup programs. The company is one of 25 selected from over 3,500 applicants this year, and is among the youngest teams ever to participate.
The company was founded by Liam Karlsson, 20, and William Gyltman, 23, both from small towns in Sweden with populations under 1,000, alongside CTO Mohammad Hamarsheh. Within weeks of joining Yuncture’s incubator program in Gothenburg, the team relocated to San Francisco to take part in the program.
What Rankad Does
Rankad helps small and medium-sized businesses get recommended by AI services such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. As AI-generated responses increasingly influence purchasing and business decisions, companies risk losing deals to competitors without knowing why. Rankad’s platform tracks how businesses appear in AI responses, identifies missed opportunities, and acts as an autopilot for AI-based visibility and revenue-driven recommendations.
About The Residency
The Residency is a three-to-six month program based in San Francisco, designed for early-stage founders who want to build at full speed. This year, the program received 3,500 applications and accepted 25 companies. Rankad is based in Inventors House, where entrepreneurs from across sectors including AI, hardware, biotech, and healthtech live and work under the same roof.
From Rejection to Fast-Track
Rankad’s path to The Residency was not straightforward. Initial contact came through a LinkedIn message from CEO Liam Karlsson, who reached out to offer help with a planned Stockholm expansion. The response redirected the conversation entirely.
The team was fast-tracked to the final stage of the selection process but initially received a rejection. The product was not yet ready. Rather than stepping back, the founders returned to Gothenburg and accelerated development. Within weeks, they had closed deals with two large companies, grown their waitlist, and sharpened their market position.
When the program reached back out, Rankad said yes. Five days later, they were on a plane to California.
“You have to be a little delusional sometimes, and dare to act as if what you’re building is already possible,” said Liam Karlsson, CEO of Rankad.
Gothenburg Roots Remain
Despite the move to California, Rankad maintains its connection to Gothenburg. The company remains part of Yuncture’s incubator program, with mentoring sessions continuing remotely. The founders are scheduled to return to Sweden in early April.
“We are coming back. Gothenburg is still our base,” said Liam. “We want to build globally. Whether that means San Francisco, Gothenburg, or somewhere else matters less. What matters is that we are where it does the most good for the company.”
About Rankad
Rankad is an AI visibility platform that helps companies get chosen in AI answers from services like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. The platform shows where businesses are losing visibility, customers and revenue inside AI generated responses, and uses autonomous agents to fix those gaps automatically.
Founded in Sweden and currently operating from The Residency in San Francisco, Rankad is focused on helping companies turn AI driven discovery into a measurable growth channel. The company is backed by Yuncture and is currently accepting new customers via waitlist.
Liam Karlsson
Rankad.ai
+46 70 481 81 83
liam@rankad.ai
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