Startup · United States
Reality Defender
HQ New YorkFounded 202151-200 employeesUpdated
Reality Defender's robust deepfake detection helps enterprises, platforms, and institutions stop deepfakes before they become a problem.
Federal Obligations by Year (All USAspending, as Reported at the Time)
| Fiscal year | Direct: contracts |
|---|---|
| FY2026 (partial) | $420K |
Direct is the company's own reviewed UEIs. Reported by USAspending is subsidiaries as reported by USAspending: recipients that name this company as their parent, not yet reviewed ownership.
Directly matched recipients (up to 12)
UEIs matched to this organization, largest obligations first. Subsidiary recipients are not included in this list; their attributed obligations can appear in the company totals above.
- REALITY DEFENDER, INC. · KCJGNMGTC1L3 · $420K
Each action is credited by the ownership basis shown in its column. Reported-parent rows count for Reality Defender only for the period a subsidiary reported Reality Defender as its parent; reviewed links follow their reviewed dates. Net of de-obligations; these are obligations, not ceilings. They come from the whole USAspending baseline (every recipient size, contracts and assistance) and are a separate view from the curated contract totals on this page. FY2026 and later are partial, as on Markets.
Funding7 rounds · $48.6M
- Equity raised
- $48.6M
- Debt, secondaries & grants
- $4K
- Latest
- UndisclosedStrategic · Sep 10, 2026
| Announced | Stage | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Other investors | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2026 | Strategic | Undisclosed | — | — | — | Reported |
| Apr 3, 2025 | Undisclosed | $86K | — | — | — | Reported |
| Oct 22, 2024 | Series A | $33.0M | — | — | — | Reported |
| Oct 17, 2023 | Series A | $15.0M | — | DCVC | — | Reported |
| Jun 27, 2023 | Seed | Undisclosed | — | — | — | Reported |
| Mar 12, 2023 | Grant | $4K | — | — | — | Reported |
| Mar 22, 2022 | Pre-Seed | $500K | — | — | — | Reported |
- StrategicUndisclosedSep 10, 2026
- Undisclosed$86KApr 3, 2025
- Series A$33.0MOct 22, 2024
- Series ALed by DCVC$15.0MOct 17, 2023
- SeedUndisclosedJun 27, 2023
- Grant$4KMar 12, 2023
- Pre-Seed$500KMar 22, 2022
Raised counts equity rounds; debt, secondary sales and grants are totaled separately. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the announcement month's average rate. A ~ marks an estimated or converted amount.
Systems4
- RealAPIAPI for analyzing audio, video and images for signs of AI manipulation.
- RealCallLive-call software for detecting cloned voices and AI callers.
- RealMeetingSoftware for detecting signs of manipulated audio or video in live meetings.
- RealScanBrowser-based software for analyzing uploaded media for signs of manipulation.
Newest unveiled first. Systems that belong to a government program link to the program page, where variants, costs and contracts are.
Capabilities1
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information management and cybersecurity | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Deepfake detection for enterprises, platforms and institutions; cybersecurity with no stated defense use. | Reported |
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Deepfake detection for enterprises, platforms and institutions; cybersecurity with no stated defense use.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
People5
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Ali Shahriyari | Co-Founder |
| Ben Colman | CEO and co-founder |
| Gaurav Bharaj | Co-Founder & Chief of Research and Development |
| Ben Coleman | CEO |
| Brian Levin | Chief Revenue Officer |
Sources9
Profile2
- 1
Sixth-Domain · Supports Organization · country, Organization · kind
“{"country": "USA", "hq_iso2": "US", "id": "078fd60e-b926-4f35-86c1-04c59016d201"}”
- 2
Reality Defender · Supports Organization · description, Organization · name, Organization · website
“Reality Defender's robust deepfake detection helps enterprises, platforms, and institutions stop deepfakes before they become a problem.”
Systems3
- 3
Reality Defender · Supports System
“Accessible instantly through the RealAPI SDKs. Minimal setup, flexible integrations, and full developer control.”
- 4
Reality Defender · Supports System
“## Test RealCall on your own traffic ### Voice clone evaluation For teams testing cloned voices in authentication, fraud, and agent queues. ### AI caller evaluation For teams measuring AI caller traffic and designing routing rules. \\”
- 5
Reality Defender · Supports System
“### RealScan Upload a file, examine the result, and review supporting evidence in your browser.”
Funding1
- 6DatabaseReality Defender company profile
Octen Business Search · Supports Funding round, Organization · employee range, Organization · founded year, Organization · hq city, Organization · linkedin url, Role
“funding round: Series A, 2023-10-17, USD 15,000,000, lead: DCVC”
People3
- 7
biometricupdate.com · Supports Role
“So begins a new post from Reality Defender CEO Ben Coleman, announcing the formation of the Reality Defender Ethics Committee.”
- 8CompanyAli Shahriyari
Reality Defender · Supports Role
“Ali Shahriyari is the Co-Founder of Reality Defender and a company advisor.”
- 9CompanyBen Colman
Reality Defender · Supports Role
“Ben Colman is the CEO and co-founder of Reality Defender, the leading deepfake detection platform helping enterprises flag fraudulent users and content.”
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.