The escalating threat of highly convincing deepfakes, a concerning byproduct of artificial intelligence advancements, is resulting in substantial financial losses for businesses through sophisticated scams. The broader ramifications for national security are equally alarming. Addressing this growing challenge, GetReal, a startup specializing in deepfake detection technology, has developed a comprehensive toolset. Designed for governments and enterprises, this platform identifies and mitigates deepfakes and impersonations across audio, video, and still images. The company has announced a significant funding round, backed by prominent investors and boasting an impressive roster of clients.
GetReal, co-founded by Hany Farid—a pioneering figure in deepfake media detection—has secured $17.5 million in equity financing. These funds will be allocated to research and development, talent acquisition, and strategic business expansion.
Concurrently with this funding announcement, GetReal is unveiling its forensic platform as a service. This offering comprises a web interface, an API, and seamless integrations for media analysis-as-a-service. Key features include:
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Threat Exposure Dashboard: Providing a comprehensive overview of potential deepfake risks.
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“Inspect” Tool: Specifically engineered to protect high-profile individuals from impersonation attacks.
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“Protect” Tool: Designed for proactive media screening to identify deepfakes.
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“Respond”: Access to GetReal’s expert human analysis teams for in-depth investigations.
This Series A funding round is spearheaded by Forgepoint Capital, a firm specializing in cybersecurity and AI investments, with participation from Ballistic Ventures, Evolution Equity, and K2 Access Fund.
Ballistic Ventures holds particular significance as GetReal was incubated within the VC firm from 2022 until its public launch in June 2024. Ballistic also led GetReal’s $7 million seed round, which, according to PitchBook data, included investments from Venrock, Artisanal, Qudit, and Silver Buckshot.
Adding to its importance, Ballistic Ventures’ founder, Ted Schlein, serves as chairman and co-founder of GetReal. Prior to establishing Ballistic, Schlein was a leading figure at Kleiner Perkins.
Hany Farid: Expertise as a Service
GetReal operates within the cybersecurity domain, focusing on the rapidly growing field of cyber-forensics. The startup, based in San Mateo, aims to address a critical market need: the scarcity of specialized talent and expertise in this sector.
“If you believe there’s a talent shortage in cybersecurity, the field of forensics is facing an even greater challenge,” stated Matt Moynahan, CEO of GetReal.
Moynahan, while not a founder, joined GetReal during its stealth phase, bringing with him three decades of leadership experience at prominent cybersecurity firms, including Symantec, Arbor Networks, Veracode, and Forcepoint.
“Frankly, I don’t think I’ve encountered a threat as pervasive as malicious deepfakes,” Moynahan commented on the potential for deepfake misuse.
He contrasted this with viruses, describing them as a “relatively novel threat.” “Over the last two decades, the primary threat vector has shifted towards the end user,” he explained. He pointed to the proliferation of “fun” deepfake applications and today’s increasingly digital business landscape as contributing factors. “Businesses have transitioned from physical locations to almost entirely digital and cloud-based operations.”
Moynahan highlighted phishing as an example of how easily even astute individuals can be deceived. He emphasized that the confluence of these factors presents a complex and concerning outlook.
GetReal originated from the work of Hany Farid, a distinguished academic (currently at UC Berkeley) widely recognized as a pioneer in developing techniques for identifying manipulated digital images. Farid recognized the potential dangers of deepfakes even before the term gained widespread use.
Farid elaborated to TechCrunch that alongside his academic research, he had been informally applying his expertise for years, offering services to media organizations, legal teams (particularly after digital images became admissible as court evidence), and other entities. In 2022, he collaborated with Schlein to explore transforming this process into a viable business, converting his investigative methodology into scalable software.
“No one possesses the deepfake insight and understanding that Hany has,” Moynahan asserted. “However, Hany’s individual expertise is not scalable. Our goal was to create a scalable ‘Hany service’ accessible via the cloud.”
Farid noted that while the technology GetReal develops needs to adapt to new app functionalities—requiring considerable reverse engineering—it also leverages foundational knowledge established over decades.
“Techniques we developed two decades ago remain effective today,” he stated, while declining to disclose specific methods. “It’s crucial not to reveal every aspect of our process, but achieving accurate detection is a complex undertaking.”
Text-Based Deepfakes: Expanding the Scope
Strategic investors participating in the Series A round include Cisco Investments, Capital One Ventures, and In-Q-Tel, an investment firm with close ties to the Central Intelligence Agency.
Alberto Yépez, co-founder of Forgepoint and lead investor, stated that these strategic backers reflect the types of organizations already interested in or adopting GetReal’s platform.
Yépez explained that due diligence revealed significant demand from heavily regulated industries like financial institutions. CISOs, prompted by board-level directives, were actively seeking solutions like GetReal to combat deepfake threats.
“The issue of deepfake impersonations arose after instances of CEO voice impersonations surfaced,” he recounted. Executives were both victims of and deceived by impersonations. Publicly disclosed clients include John Deere and Visa.
Regarding government applications, Yépez noted, “There are clear governmental priorities in this area as well.”
These priorities encompass preventing intelligence agencies and government officials from being manipulated by disinformation originating from malicious actors.
However, GetReal’s current focus does not yet extend to text-based manipulation and impersonation.
This limitation was highlighted recently when the editor of The Atlantic, mistakenly added to a Signal group chat discussing a Yemeni military operation, initially dismissed it as a potential impersonation hoax. The chat, shockingly, proved to be genuine and a serious breach of national security protocols.
Farid acknowledged that text analysis is not currently within GetReal’s operational scope. “Text presents a distinct challenge,” he stated. However, the long-term strategy includes expanding capabilities to address a wider range of deepfake and impersonation threats, encompassing various media types.