ActiveFence has set itself the goal of dealing with all dangerous and harmful content on the Internet: terrorism, Nazism, pedophilia, disinformation and more. The start-up was established in 2018 when its four founders - Noam Schwartz (CEO), Alon Porat, Eyal Dykan and Iftach Orr - realized a real solution was needed to make the Internet a safer place.
ActiveFence's tool comprises several layers. The first is software that helps Internet companies' trust and security teams manage problematic content policies, for example, understanding what’s bad and what's not, and deploying technologies to block that content. The second is a data layer, in which external content is compared with the company’s database, speeding up identification. The third layer consists of services that help companies understand what's happening and how to identify trends. The company provides a system that detects malicious content at the moment of publication, and that can then act on its own, or pass the decision about whether to remove the content on to content managers.
ActiveFence was established, its founders say, because of the lack of a successful solution anywhere else. "It was a combination of ‘we don’t know if they’re not trying’ or ‘we don’t know if they’re not succeeding.’ There are amazing people at all the Internet companies, but they need help," Schwartz explains. He tells how it began in 2015; spending time at the neonatal intensive care unit after the birth of his first daughter, he was mapping public Dropbox pages to identify the Internet’s most popular hyperlinks - and came across a folder of pedophilic content.
A compelling task
The company's challenges are mainly in research and development, as they attempt to keep a step ahead of the content producers. While all companies in the market compete to hire the best people, the fact that ActiveFence’s mission is a good one is, they say, "the best driver for attracting employees."
ActiveFence’s competitors are companies that provide service at every level, for example, content search tools for specific topics, moderation tools, content management, and targeted detection. Accenture is one competitor (Meta, formerly Facebook, approached it to monitor its non-English languages content).
ActiveFence has several dozen Internet sector clients in gaming, cloud computing, social networks, dating sites, and marketplaces. The company has raised $100 million from investors including Grove Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, CRV, Highland Europe, and Vintage Investment Partners. Annual revenue growth, which was 100%, surged during the Covid-19 pandemic and grew by 300% in comparison with the previous year. Employee headcount jumped from 60 to 220, currently working in offices in New York and Binyamina, and soon in Ramat Gan and London.
Revenue stands at tens of millions of dollars a year but the company is not yet profitable. "We want to have a positive impact on the Internet," says Schwartz. "We’re not interested in an acquisition, merger, or public offering. We’re interested in making an impact."
ActiveFence
- Business: Detecting and blocking malicious content on the Internet
- History: Founded in 2018 by Noam Schwartz (CEO), Alon Porat, Eyal Dykan and Iftach Orr
- Stats: The company, which employs 220 people, raised $ 100 million, including from Grove Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, CRV, Highland Europe, and Vintage Investment Partners
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 7, 2021.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2021.