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Scam alert on a cell phone. (Bigstock Photo)
Hiya, a Seattle startup battling fraudulent calls and providing technology to protect voice identity, is acquiring deepfake detection company Loccus.ai in a deal announced Thursday.
Hiya has incorporated Loccus’ tech into a new product called Hiya AI Voice Detection that can detect AI voices from only 1.5 seconds of audio, allowing it to alert users in real time. The tool works for multiple languages and in wide-ranging applications including personal communications, news and social media content, video conferencing, and other situations.
The companies did not disclose the terms of the purchase.
There’s increasing demand for fraud detection as generative AI and robocalls are increasingly deceptive and their use is widespread.
New research from Hiya finds that in the past three months, 28% of U.S. consumers have received a voice call using AI deepfake technology and 70% have received a robocall.
Hiya was a finalist for Innovation of the Year at this year’s GeekWire Awards. The startup has raised $42.5 million from investors, with its most recent round coming in March 2023 with a $4.7 million investment, according to PitchBook. The company launched in 2016, spinning out from Whitepages.
Loccus launched in 2022 and is based in Barcelona, Spain.
