French online moderation startup Bodyguard.ai has raised €9m as the company prepares for further international expansion into the UK, Europe and the US.
The funding was led by Keen Venture Partners and Ring Capital. Previous seed investors Starquest Capital also participated in the latest fundraise.
Bodyguard.ai uses a proprietary AI model to moderate harmful comments across social media spaces.
Some of Bodyguard’s international clients include online entertainment company Jellysmack, media companies M6 Group and Konbini as well as the French professional football league.
The company is based in Nice and has offices in Paris and California. However, the startup is looking to extend its global reach following the new round of funding, with the opening of a London office.
Bodyguard claims that “up to 40% of users” disengage from online community spaces at the “first exposure to toxic content”.
Censorship of online content is a sensitive issue, with fierce debate around where the line should be drawn. However, Charles Cohen, CEO and founder of Bodyguard.ai, believes “it is essential that the internet is a space where everyone can feel safe, no matter who they are or what they believe in”.
Another challenge comes from the volume of people on the internet, which makes the moderation of ‘toxic’ content seem impossible. However, the company claims its AI model can “accurately moderate more than 95% of toxic content in real-time” without requiring a human moderator.
“Bodyguard.ai’s mission is to build a better internet. Today, I am proud of the mobilisation of our ecosystem to develop our solutions, adapt them to new uses and contribute to the building of Web 3.0,” said Cohen.
Nicolas Ceiler, partner at Ring Capital, said Bodyguard’s philosophy is “at the intersection of two underlying trends, impact and digital, which come together to address strong social and societal issues”.
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