A new-to-Miami company is raising millions from investors to identify toxic internet behaviors and build safer online communities.
Spectrum Labs announced it raised $32 million in a series B financing round led by Santa Clara, California venture capital firm Intel Capital. The company's investment director, Divya Sudhaker, will join Spectrum's board of directors. The round brings the company's total funding to $45 million since its 2017 founding.
Spectrum will use the funding to scale the adoption of its artificial intelligence-powered content moderation platform. The firm's trust and safety platform uses AI to detect at least 40 "toxic" behaviors, such as the use of violent, misogynistic and racist language, across text and voice applications. The goal is to help businesses build social networking, dating, gaming and e-commerce platforms that protect users from harassment.
The company also plans to develop applications for human resources, sales, customer service and branded safety teams, said Spectrum Labs co-founder and CEO Justin Davis.
“As more of our living, working, and playing happens on the Internet, leading companies are increasingly thinking about how to better understand, protect, and grow their communities," he said.
Davis traded Silicon Valley for Miami last November, but the firm remains a remote-first workplace. Spectrum has about 40 employees across 16 states and is currently hiring in South Florida and beyond.
Online hate speech is rising across the world, with a disproportionate amount of that harassment directed toward minority groups and women, according to the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Last year, the UN recommended that social media companies strengthen protections for targeted users and adopt a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and racism to create safer online spaces.
Spectrum's AI can be deployed across 30 languages to identify inappropriate online behavior on digital platforms. So far, it has partnered with at least 20 companies to improve online safety, including Grindr; Fandom; and Riot Games, a video game developer and esports tournament organizer.
Scott Gelb, president of games at Riot Games, said Spectrum Labs' trust and safety platform helped the company identify and classify more than 200 million lines of "disruptive" behavior in 2021.
"They’ve been a critical partner in improving the gaming experience for players as we’ve continued to grow across multiple games, regions, and languages," he added.
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