With $33 Million in New Funding, Reality Defender Expands Fight Against Deepfake Technology

“The threats posed by deepfakes are real and growing, and our mission is to provide the tools to combat them,” asserts Ben Colman, CEO and Co-Founder of Reality Defender. This statement captures the essence of the urgency facing the digital world today as Reality Defender announces an expansion of its Series A fundraising, securing a total of $33 million in capital investment. This funding round, led by Illuminate Financial, saw contributions from several prominent investors, including Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, the Jeffries Family Office, Accenture, and original Series A lead investor DCVC, as well as previous backers like The Partnership Fund for New York City and Y Combinator.

Since its founding in 2021, Reality Defender has emerged as the leading platform dedicated to detecting deepfakes and AI-generated media. The company provides enterprises, platforms, and government organizations with comprehensive solutions to identify deepfakes and AI-generated content across various formats, including audio, video, images, and text. Reality Defender has successfully partnered with financial institutions, government agencies, and major media conglomerates, detecting millions of deepfakes, preventing advanced voice fraud in real time, and protecting against state-sponsored cyber threats.

“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 to protect against novel and potential future threats as they appear,” Colman stated. He highlighted the importance of their collaboration with Illuminate Financial, emphasizing that the firm recognizes the threats deepfakes pose to the financial sector. This recognition enables Reality Defender to expand its reach from call centers at tier-one banks to other vulnerable sectors susceptible to AI-enabled fraud.

The necessity for such advancements in technology is underscored by the alarming statistics surrounding deepfake proliferation. Deepfakes have surged in volume by an astonishing 3,000% year-over-year. With the rise of generative AI platforms, anyone can create a deepfake of another person in as little as five minutes for just $5. This ease of access raises serious ethical and security concerns, making it crucial for companies like Reality Defender to stay ahead of the curve.

The impact of deepfakes on businesses is equally concerning. Earlier this year, a multinational firm suffered a staggering loss of $25 million due to a deepfake attack. These incidents illustrate how adversaries target high-stakes transactions, causing real harm to financial services, enterprises, governments, and media organizations. As cyberattacks evolve, so too do the tactics employed by criminals. According to Accenture’s Cyber Intelligence (ACI) researchers, threat actors are increasingly willing to invest in higher-quality deepfakes, with prices for top-tier videos reaching up to $20,000 per minute. Furthermore, researchers observed a 223% increase in the buying and selling of deepfake-related tools on major dark web forums between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, highlighting the urgent need for Reality Defender’s AI-driven, real-time detection capabilities.

With this extended funding, Reality Defender is well-positioned to further its mission of safeguarding organizations, governments, and individuals from the threats posed by deepfakes and AI-generated content. “Cyberattacks are evolving — deepfake attacks are here, and they’re growing exponentially in volume and sophistication,” Colman noted, emphasizing the critical need for robust defenses in today’s digital landscape.

Reality Defender employs an ensemble of sophisticated AI models that allow for real-time detection of deepfakes across various modalities. One of the platform’s key use cases is its integration in high-stakes environments such as call centers, where it monitors millions of calls in real time to detect voice-based deepfakes at the outset of customer engagements. The platform also finds application in video conferencing tools, where it plays a crucial role in preventing impersonation attacks during sensitive meetings involving key stakeholders. Additionally, Reality Defender serves as a powerful forensic tool, enabling agencies and enterprises to analyze existing deepfakes and assess threats in the wild.

The recognition of Reality Defender’s innovative technology has already garnered significant acclaim. Recently, the company was awarded “The Most Innovative Startup” at the RSA 2024 Innovation Sandbox. This accolade reflects the hard work and dedication of the Reality Defender team, who are tirelessly committed to protecting individuals and businesses from the escalating threat of deepfakes.

Colman concluded, “We are dedicated to maintaining trust in digital interactions and ensuring that organizations can operate without fear of being undermined by synthetic media.” As deepfakes continue to challenge the integrity of information and interactions, Reality Defender stands poised at the forefront of this fight, employing cutting-edge technology to address the evolving landscape of digital threats.

“Trust takes years to build and only moments to destroy.” This sentiment resonates deeply within the cybersecurity community, emphasizing the critical importance of transparency and accuracy as Reality Defender continues to develop solutions in collaboration with its partners in the banking sector. Each time the company receives an emergency call from a bank’s Chief Information Security Officer seeking a deepfake solution, it reinforces the commitment to honesty and precision in communicating the effectiveness of their detection technology.