Cybersecurity startup NewKnowledge raises $11 million Series A funding to protect brands from social media disinformation attacks

NewKnowledge, a cybersecurity company that protects brands and corporations from covert, coordinated disinformation campaigns, has raised $11 million in a Series A funding to expand its sales and marketing to scale in new markets and to establish itself as the leader in disinformation defense. The latest round was led by existing investor GGV Capital, with participation from Lux Capital.

Founded in 2015 by a team of national security, digital media and machine learning experts with decades of experience who are dedicated to defending public discourse and providing brands with disinformation protection, New Knowledge is a cybersecurity company specializing in disinformation defense for highly visible brands under attack by coordinated and covert digital manipulation campaigns. Through machine learning and AI the company detects threats before damage is done. The Austin, Texas-based startup is backed by GGV Capital, Moonshot Capital, Haystack Ventures, Geekdom Fund, Capital Factory and Spitfire Ventures.

“We are living in an age of information warfare,” said New Knowledge CEO, Jonathon Morgan. “Disinformation campaigns may be highly organized and well-funded state attacks on industry, as well as individual operators trolling the internet to create chaos and division. Attacks against governments and political figures are well documented, and the problem has expanded to include attacks against companies, brands and public figures. New Knowledge’s mission is to help companies identify these threats early, and to remediate them before they gain momentum and erode a company’s reputation.”

“As disinformation campaigns and automated media manipulation have accelerated, New Knowledge has emerged as critical to helping preserve the digital media platforms that the technology sector has helped build,” said GGV Capital Partner, Glenn Solomon. “While social and digital media platforms have taken important steps to thwart hackers and trolls, they cannot be relied upon solely to correct this growing problem. The team at New Knowledge has devised a solution that goes beyond social listening to combat disinformation at the source and help businesses prevent threats from spinning out of control. At GGV Capital we seek to invest in great entrepreneurs addressing large and growing markets with innovative technologies. New Knowledge is focused on a very exciting and important opportunity and we’re excited to back the company.”

New Knowledge uses novel techniques to combat automated digital attacks that sabotage brand reputation. The company’s combination of artificial intelligence and human analysis work to identify attacks, analyze the source and mitigate the spread of malign narratives. Since its launch in 2015, New Knowledge has helped clients across entertainment, energy, financial services and defense sectors to protect their online communities, their brand reputation and integrity. With a mission to protect public discourse, New Knowledge provides companies with the first end-to-end disinformation defense solution that can monitor, detect, and mitigate against malicious digital attacks.