Deepfake detection startup imper.ai launches with $28M in funding

Investments continue to recognize the threat posed by generative AI, most recently with a public launch and 28 million dollars in new funding for startup imper.ai, which provides real-time impersonation risk monitoring and deepfake detection.

A release says the funding round is led by Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures, with participation from Maple VC, Vessy VC and Cerca Partners.

Brooklyn-based imper.ai’s agentless platform covers major communication platforms such as Zoom, Teams and Slack, WhatsApp, Google Workspaces and ATS, detecting malicious behavior by analyzing security signals across network devices and digital personas.

The company differentiates its system from products that scan content for irregularities, saying it “scans and analyzes the digital breadcrumbs attackers cannot fake: device telemetry, network diagnostics and behavioral markers cross-referenced with unique organizational knowledge.”

Its efforts are part of a sector-wide response to the proliferation of tools that make it easy and cheap to generate deepfakes or clone voices. Deloitte estimates that AI-driven fraud could cause 40 billion in annual losses in the U.S. by 2027.

“AI-driven impersonation has become one of the biggest drivers of financial loss and reputational risk for enterprises,” says CEO of imper.ai Noam Awadish, who previously worked for autonomous driving company Mobileye. “We built imper.ai to help CISOs strengthen their defenses and focus on prevention instead of crisis response.”

Awadish joins partners Anatoly Blighovsky and Rom Dudkiewicz, whose experience includes leadership roles in the Israeli Defense Forces’ Unit 8200, Israel’s equivalent to the U.S. National Security Agency. Alumni of Unit 8200 established a significant presence in Silicon Valley this year; in July, U.S. cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks acquired identity management and information security firm CyberArk for 25 billion dollars in cash and stock. The founders of both firms come from the elite military intelligence unit.

The new investment for imper.ai will support its expansion in the finance, healthcare and technology sectors, and beyond. “Social engineering attacks have become one of the toughest challenges in cybersecurity because people can no longer tell who’s real and who’s not,” says Erica Brescia, managing director at Redpoint Ventures. “What stood out about imper.ai is how naturally it solves that problem. It gives companies the confidence that every call, message, and interaction is authentic, protecting trust, privacy, and business continuity at the same time.”

Article Topics

deepfake detection  |  deepfakes  |  funding  |  generative AI  |  imper.ai  |  investment