Clarity raises $16 million in Seed funding to defend against deepfakes
The Israeli AI startup enables organizations to rapidly identify and eliminate deepfakes and synthetic media created by generative AI
AI cybersecurity startup Clarity, which has developed a platform for detecting deepfakes, announced on Thursday that it has raised a Seed investment of $16 million led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The round also included first-check investor Secret Chord Ventures, Ascend Ventures and Flying Fish Partners. More than 70 angel investors and advisors also participated, including world-renowned cyber expert Udi Mokady, Chairman of CyberArk, and democracy expert Professor Larry Diamond of Stanford University.
Full list of Israeli high-tech funding rounds in 2024
Clarity was founded in 2022 by Michael Matias (CEO), Natalie Fridman (CTO), and Gil Avriel (CSO & COO). Matias previously studied AI at Stanford, was an Officer at the 8200 Cyber Unit and a recipient of the Goldman Sachs 2023 Builders and Innovators Award. Natalie is a PhD in Computer Science with a specialization in artificial intelligence, with a background in managing and leading R&D teams in high-tech companies. Gil, who holds a master's degree from Harvard University, served for 14 years as a legal advisor at the National Security Council in the Prime Minister's Office. The company employs 15 people, most of whom are veterans of Check Point and intelligence units, employed in Israel.
The investment will be used by the company to hire more employees, continue the development of the technology, and expand in the U.S.
In a conversation with Calcalist, Michael Matias, who is the son of Yossi Matias, VP at Google and Managing Director of Google's R&D center in Israel, and Dr. Shavit Matias, first Deputy Attorney General of Israel for International Law, said: "I love AI from my father's side and I learned about the threat to democracy from my mother's side. I'm disturbed by what is happening in the world with 40 elections to take place this year, and I think that deepfakes are a real threat to them.”
Clarity’s patent-pending technology detects AI manipulations in videos, images and audio and authenticates media with encrypted watermarking. Organizations can integrate Clarity’s solution into their workflows, mitigating risks and protecting the digital integrity of their product and reserves.
“Our digital lives are under attack by shockingly accurate representations of people saying things they never said, and doing things they never did; we are just at the beginning of the invasion of deceit,” added Matias. “These capital infusions and ongoing partnership with Walden Catalyst and Bessemer means that we an accelerate our R&D and market growth, both essential to our mission of preserving trust in the digital world.”
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Clarity is currently working with some of the largest news organizations to verify their media, is working with the government of Israel, and has recently partnered with Kaltura to verify and authenticate sensitive footage and testimonials from the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.
