“We are very pleased that investors recognize the potential of our software. Bank fraud, sextortion, incitement, societal polarization—those with malicious intent can cause a lot of damage with deepfake images. But our software can unmask deepfakes,” says CEO Parya Lotfi of DuckDuckGoose, a YES!Delft startup.
Last week, the agreement was signed by the impact investment fund SI3 of Shaping Impact Group and Ctrl+Alt+Invest, who are collectively investing €1 million in the startup. Earlier this year, Aruma Ventures, Graduate Entrepreneur, and Kwetter invested a total of €300,000.
Opinions Shaped by False Frames
“In the SI3 fund, a safe society is a distinctive argument. DuckDuckGoose contributes to a safe society by preventing public opinion from being shaped by false frames,” says Jamy Goewie, partner of the social investment company Shaping Impact Group.
“The importance of impact is echoed by Jin Han, general partner of investment firm Aruma Ventures. ‘In the run-up to the British elections, we see deepfake images being used of Prime Minister Sunak and Labour leader Starmer to influence voters.'”
“Both financial parties, governments, and companies, including (social) media, need a solution to combat the proliferation of deepfakes,” says Lennard Zwart of Ctrl+Alt+Invest.
ID Fraud
Lotfi: “We will use the investment to enhance our position in the digital identity world. We are making our technology scalable so that we can later efficiently expand its applicability to other use cases such as non-consensual deepfake adult content, fake news, and deepfake telecommunications. It’s a cat-and-mouse game with software. With the use of AI, malicious actors are developing better versions of deepfake software. It’s up to us to stay one step ahead.”
Security Services
The startup works for banks, insurance companies worldwide, and even the Dutch House of Representatives to investigate potentially manipulated images of MPs. Additionally, the Dutch Forensic Institute is a regular client, and international security services and the U.S. Department of Defence frequently rely on the deepfake detectives.