The company, founded by cybersecurity veterans, will use the capital to accelerate its international expansion and enhance its proprietary “degenerative artificial intelligence” technology designed to unmask manipulated content.
ROME – In a digital era where distinguishing truth from falsehood is increasingly complex, Italian startup IdentifAI has announced the closing of a €5 million funding round. The round was led by United Ventures, one of Italy’s leading venture capital firms, highlighting the growing importance of advanced technological solutions to counter the threat of deepfakes.
This new capital injection, which follows a previous €2.2 million investment less than a year ago, marks a crucial step for the young company. Founded in 2024 by two cybersecurity industry veterans, Marco Ramilli and Marco Castaldo, IdentifAI has a clear objective: to accelerate its international expansion into European and U.S. markets and to support the ongoing research and development of its proprietary platform.
Defending truth with “Degenerative” technology
At the core of IdentifAI is a sophisticated platform based on what its founders term “degenerative artificial intelligence.” Unlike generative AIs that create content, IdentifAI’s technology operates in reverse: it analyzes images, videos, and audio files to detect manipulations and alterations invisible to the human eye with a high degree of probability. The system examines content at the pixel level, searching for anomalies and digital fingerprints left by artificial generation processes, thereby delivering a verdict on a file’s authenticity.
“Image alteration has always existed, but today the technology to do it is accessible to everyone, and the results are often indistinguishable from reality,” emphasized co-founder Marco Ramilli. “Our goal from the outset was to build a global company, because we believe that truth is a universal value that must be defended on a global scale.”
Expansion and new applications
With the new capital, IdentifAI aims to strengthen its international market presence, offering its services to a wide range of sectors. The applications for its technology are both numerous and critical: from combating disinformation in the media and publishing industries to preventing fraud in the financial and insurance sectors, and protecting the reputations of companies and public figures.
The startup is also developing specific products to address new frontiers of digital threats. Among these is Paladin, a software designed to integrate with video conferencing platforms like Zoom, capable of verifying in real-time that the identities of meeting participants have not been cloned or digitally manipulated.
According to IdentifAI’s internal estimates, 70% of online scams could leverage artificial intelligence technologies within the next three years—a figure that underscores the urgency and relevance of the company’s mission.
Massimiliano Magrini, co-founder and managing partner of United Ventures, commented: “Starting from Italy, in just a few months they have demonstrated ambition, vision, and the ability to attract international talent, establishing themselves as one of the most promising players in the fight against deepfakes and disinformation.”
With this significant funding round, IdentifAI is positioned to become a European and global benchmark in the technological race to safeguard authenticity in the age of artificial intelligence.
