Reality Defender Reels In $33 Million

NEW YORK — Reality Defender, a deepfake and AI-generated media detection platform, has expanded its Series A funding to $33 million. The expanded fundraising round was led by Illuminate Financial, with additional participation from Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, the Jefferies Family Office, and Accenture, as well as additional participation from original Series A lead investor DCVC and past investors The Partnership Fund for New York City and Y Combinator.

Founded in 2021, Reality Defender is the leading platform providing enterprises, platforms, and governments with robust solutions to detect deepfakes and AI-generated content across audio, video, images, and text. Since launching in 2021, Reality Defender has partnered with financial entities, government agencies, and media conglomerates to detect millions of deepfakes, prevent advanced voice fraud in real time, and deflect state-sponsored attackers.

“The Reality Defender team’s proactive development has allowed our platform to not only keep pace with the many ills brought on by deepfakes and generative AI, but protect against novel and potential future threats as they appear,” said Ben Colman, CEO and Co-Founder of Reality Defender. “Illuminate not only recognizes the threats deepfakes pose to the financial sector, but allow us to further our reach in the sector and beyond — moving from call centers at tier-one banks to vulnerable places where AI-enabled fraud can inflict the most damage.”

“Financial institutions are experiencing a growing number of synthetic media attacks and are at the greatest risk of financial loss and reputational damage,” said Alexander Ross, General Partner at Illuminate, who will also join the Reality Defender board. “We are excited to partner with Reality Defender to accelerate their go to market through Illuminate’s strategic partners and industry-focused network.”

“Reality Defender has swiftly established itself as the industry leader in deepfake detection,” said Ali Tamaseb, a General Partner at DCVC and a member of Reality Defender’s board of directors. “It offers vitally needed protection against emerging digital threats against enterprises, governments, and the world’s largest banks and financial institutions. We are excited to welcome new investors, including financial institutions and financial technology investors, on-board.”

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