Reality Defender
YC W22New York City, US · Founded 2021 · Delaware corporation · 54 employees · Hiring · 19 known investors
Reality Defender develops an AI platform for detecting deepfakes and synthetic media, serving enterprise organizations to prevent fraud and impersonation. The company offers multimodal detection capabilities through an API and SDK for developers.
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W22)
Reality Defender was founded in 2021 by Ben Colman, Gaurav Bharaj, Ali Shahriyari, and Lars Buttler.
Board
Investors · 19
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Also in the syndicate · 4
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$36.9M disclosed across 2 rounds · 2023–2024
▶$17.5MraisedOct 2024 · 12 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Benjamin ColmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Alexander RossDirector
- Ali TamasebDirector
- Ali ShahriyariDirector
- Milos FultonExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $24.5M
- Amount sold
- $17.5M
- First sale
- Aug 2024
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2021
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$19.4MraisedOct 2023 · 32 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Ali ShahriyariDirector
- Ali TamasebDirector
- Benjamin ColmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $20.1M
- Amount sold
- $19.4M
- First sale
- Sep 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2021
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Reality Defender develops deepfake detection technology aimed at enterprises, platforms and institutions, identifying AI-generated and manipulated media in real time across communication channels. The company positions its product as an "enterprise authenticity layer" that screens synthetic media before it can be used to authorize payments, spread false information publicly, or cause automated agents to act on manipulated inputs.
Coverage spans multiple modalities and channels, including contact center security, access security and fraud prevention, secure video conferencing, and brand and executive protection. Named use cases include call center fraud, video conferencing user verification, know-your-customer checks, identity and access management, recruiting and onboarding, and executive impersonation defense.
Business model
Reality Defender sells detection capabilities to organizations, offering turnkey integrations with everyday applications alongside advanced deployments for sensitive environments, and exposes its models to developers through an API and SDKs. A free tier provides 50 audio or image scans per month, with enterprise engagement handled through direct contact.
Traction
Recognition includes the SINET16 Innovator Award in October 2024, the RSA Conference Innovation Sandbox "Most Innovative Startup" award in April 2025, and Gartner coverage in December 2025. In June 2026, ZeroFox integrated Reality Defender's deepfake detection into its threat protection platform.
Latest developments
In June 2026, ZeroFox integrated Reality Defender's deepfake detection into its external threat protection platform. In July 2026, the company published research on emerging agentic AI voice threats, and its leadership was featured in press coverage on executive views of agentic AI. In December 2025, the company highlighted its placement in Gartner's deepfake detection emerging market analysis.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market
Market position
Reality Defender is described as a vendor in the deepfake detection market and is included in Gartner's Emerging Market Quadrant for Deepfake Detection — Startup Vendors (as of June 2026). It has received the SINET16 Innovator Award (2024) and the "Most Innovative Startup" award at the RSA Conference Innovation Sandbox (2025).
Technology
The platform uses an ensemble of blended detection models applied simultaneously across hundreds of platform-agnostic techniques, designed to be content- and platform-independent and to cover a wide array of media types. Models are described as continuously tested and updated to keep pace with new generative techniques, and detection runs in real time within existing enterprise systems.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales motion ("Get in Touch" and solution-led pages) combined with a self-serve developer path via a free API tier and SDK documentation, supported by press coverage, analyst recognition and industry awards.
Financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises seeking to protect critical communication channels, plus platforms and developers integrating detection via API and SDK.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Images
Founder mafia
4 people who came through Reality Defender went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors · 4
by search overlap
Companies competing with Reality Defender for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsCompany post states Reality Defender was recognized by Gartner as a market shaper in deepfake detection; the referenced Emerging Market Quadrant is dated as of June 2026.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Reality Defenderrealitydefender.com · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Reality Defender do?
- Reality Defender provides enterprise deepfake and AI-generated media detection across audio, image, video and text channels.
- Who founded Reality Defender?
- Reality Defender was founded by Ben Colman, Gaurav Bharaj, Ali Shahriyari, Lars Buttler in 2021.
- Who are Reality Defender's investors?
- Reality Defender's investors include Amino Capital, Argon Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, DCVC (Data Collective), Evolution VC Partners, Ex/Ante, FPV, Fusion and 7 more.
- How much funding has Reality Defender raised?
- Reality Defender has disclosed $36.9M raised across 2 rounds.
- Where is Reality Defender headquartered?
- Reality Defender is headquartered in New York City, US.