Detecting deepfakes: Seattle startup Loti lands $16M to offer celebs, consumers digital protection

Public figures see both opportunity and threats from generative AI. Seattle startup Loti is helping them navigate both.

The company on Tuesday announced a $16.2 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures.

Loti helps celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile individuals protect their digital likeness in a chaotic world of deepfakes and IP rights.

Loti’s advanced facial and voice recognition software analyzes real photos, video and audio from customers and then scans the internet for infringing media — such as fake social media accounts, fake endorsements, or deepfakes that misuse their likeness.

The company can then issue takedown requests. It is also starting to help clients determine how their likeness is used in AI.

Loti works with both individuals as well as agencies, sports leagues, and large IP holders.

“They come to us to protect their likeness, their IP rights and now increasingly to manage how they participate in the generative AI economy,” said Loti CEO Luke Arrigoni.

Loti initially focused on celebs but last month released a consumer-focused product.

The startup has some regulatory tailwinds with the recent re-introduction of the No Fakes Act, which aims to help actors and musicians protect their voices and likeness. The bill has support from Google, Amazon, and others.

“This is a vote of confidence in our approach of offering privacy and publicity controls to everyone,” Arrigoni said.

Loti has partnerships with major talent agencies including WME and CAA.

The company declined to share revenue metrics but Arrigoni said its client list is “growing exponentially.”

Loti competes against a number of other companies offering similar digital protection technologies, including Sony-backed Vermillio AI, which raised $16 million last month.

“We see new entrants to our space from time to time but they are often deterred by the massive technical complexity of monitoring the internet for face and voices so they pivot out of our space,” said Arrigoni. “While I’m sure everyone has decent tech, ours is battle hardened and bespoke to those that rely on these protections.”

Arrigoni previously ran an AI consulting firm for a decade and was a data scientist for CAA. He founded Loti with Rebekah Arrigoni and serial entrepreneur Hirak Chhatbar.

Other investors include Seattle-area firm FUSE; Bling Capital; Ensemble; Alpha Edison; and K5 Tokyo Black. Total funding to date for the 3-year-old company is north of $22 million.