Blackbird AI, a New York-based startup known for developing AI-powered risk intelligence software, recently secured a $20 million investment in a Series B funding round. Led by Ten Eleven Ventures, the round also featured contributions from Dorilton Capital, Generation Ventures, StartFast Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, and several angel investors. This takes the total funding raised by the company to $30 million.

Co-founded and spearheaded by CEO Wasim Khaled, Blackbird was established in 2017 with a vision to utilize technology for the betterment of society. The startup's first product, an algorithm designed for network analysis and adversary cohort modeling, was utilized by the US Department of Defense to examine online propaganda and influence operations on high-profile websites. However, due to the pandemic affecting its Department of Defense contract, Blackbird shifted focus towards enterprise and expanded its tools to process text, image, video, and audio data from various sources such as social media, news, and the dark web.

The risk management software developed by Blackbird aims to detect and counter cyber information attacks like deep fake campaigns and influence operations. The platform enables users to explore details like content-sharing patterns of specific actors and emerging narratives in active discussions. Additionally, it provides heat map visualizations that display the flow of narratives across social media, flags bot-like accounts, and analyzes the impact of influencers on the narrative flow.

While the effectiveness of Blackbird's platform has not yet been independently tested, it faces competition from other companies in the reputation and risk intelligence sector, such as Graphika, Logically, and Cyabra. However, the risk management software market is large enough to accommodate multiple vendors, with predictions that the industry could be worth as much as $86.53 billion by 2030. This growth is supported by a report from Deloitte indicating that over half of the companies plan to invest in analytical and brand monitoring tools to address reputation risk.

Although the exact number of Blackbird's clients remains undisclosed, Khaled suggests that the rising threat from disinformation has been beneficial for the company's growth. The $20 million investment is a significant boost for Blackbird, allowing it to enhance its AI-powered risk management software and expand its services. As disinformation continues to spread and wreak havoc on reputations and operations worldwide, Blackbird stands firm in its commitment to counteract such threats through its cutting-edge technology.