New York Angels is one of the largest and most active angel investment organizations.  Founded in 2004 as the successor organization to the NYNMA (New York New Media Association) Angel Investor Program, New York Angels is a membership organization of over 110 active angel investors and early stage venture capital funds. The group meets monthly to screen and present early stage technology companies, and its members have invested over $100 million since 2002 into over 90 ventures. In April of 2017, PItchbook identified New York Angels as #3 in their list of the 8 top VCs funding seed rounds of New York-based companies.  Among the NYA membership are nationally known angel investors including Esther Dyson and David S. Rose. The group has one full-time staff, reporting to an 11 person Board of Directors chaired by Brian S. Cohen. Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey is currently Program Director of New York Angels. Since 2012, the membership has increased by 66% and investment activity has grown by over 215%.   New York Angels concentrates on early stage investments in the range of $100,000 - $1,000,000, although it has led deals as large as $2 million. It receives over 2,200 financing applications annually, from which it selects 12-16 companies each month for an in-person screening, where all members of New York Angels are invited to attend. The group meets again for an Investment Breakfast at the end of the month, where 2-4 opportunities present to the membership with a goal to close their current investment round within two months. The group is considered a leader in the growing field of organized angel investing. It was the first member of the national Angel Capital Association, hosted the ACA Summit conference in 2006, and was the initial test group for the now-standard gust (Angelsoft) funding platform.  Membership as an investor in New York Angels is by invitation only, and members are required to commit to investing at least $50,000 annually in early stage technology deals, in addition to the group's $3,500 annual membership dues.  Requests for funding for entrepreneurial ventures may be self-submitted through the group's website. New York Angels charges no fees to entrepreneurs.

New York Angels

Techstars is a global platform that provides investment and innovation. Through the Techstars Worldwide Entrepreneur Network, founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. Techstars operates four divisions: Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Program supercharges success and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate, and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Venture Capital Fund invests in innovative and disruptive companies. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships help brands create products and services. Techstars' accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,000 companies with a market cap of $8.1 billion.

Techstars

Contour Venture Partners invests in companies focused on information technology, and the application of innovative software solutions into the enterprise SaaS, vertical B2B SaaS and financial services sectors. The principals at Contour have a long and successful track record, having directly supported over 85 companies through numerous market cycles. We take great pride in the strong bonds we form with management teams, as this is a crucial ingredient to achieving long term milestones while also making the process engaging and enjoyable. We recognize it is the details and pursuit of flawless execution combined with the right long-term vision that makes a company great. We have the experience, intuition, judgment and industry expertise to ensure that the foundation is in place for management to build a great business with a sustainable competitive advantage.

Contour Venture Partners

New York Venture Partners is a seed stage venture capital firm dedicated to the entrepreneur.  New York Venture Partners provide an ecosystem of financing, mentorship and strategic marketing consulting to the best entrepreneurs out there today.

New York Venture Partners

Alumni Ventures Group provides high-quality, diversified venture portfolios to individual investors who previously haven't had access to VC. It helps accredited alums from top entrepreneurial schools invest together in the ventures of fellow alums. The firm backs companies with an alumni connection and an institutional lead investor with expertise in the space. AVG also offers focused funds that allow any accredited investor access to a venture portfolio, diversified by type, sector, stage, and geography. Beth Obermiller, Michael Madden, and Mike Collins co-founded the firm in Manchester, New Hampshire in 2013.

Alumni Ventures

Kidas

Kidas analyzes all communications on children's gaming consoles and alerts parents about potentially dangerous activities in video games. It envisions a future where kids can safely navigate the digital world but recognize that there are still many threats to children online that they want to help the parents, help kids avoid them. Kidas is a tool that alerts parents of potentially dangerous activities in their child's digital life. It was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Kidas is a Philadelphia-based technology company that develops AI-powered software to protect children from online threats while gaming. Founded in 2019 by Ron Kerbs, Kidas' flagship product is ProtectMe, a monitoring application that uses artificial intelligence to detect cyberbullying, predatory behavior, scams, and other dangers in online gaming environments. The software analyzes voice and text communications across over 220 popular games and platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Discord.

Why regulators at the FTC and beyond are turning an eye to child safety in gaming in 2023

Aura Expands Kids Online Safety Capabilities with Safe Gaming Technology and Investment in Kidas

Kidas is Putting the Kibosh on Cyber Bullying with Software Built for Young Gamers & Parents Alike

Kidas is behind this coalition to reduce toxicity in gaming

Stand 4 Kind

Ron Kerbs’ Startup, Kidas, Protects Kids Online Without Invading Privacy

Business for Good: KIDAS

Kidas Keeps Kids Safe When They Play Online

Advanced Online Gaming Security

Kidas Introduces ProtectMe™: The First Parent-Centered Child PC Gaming Protection Alert and Recommendation Platform

Creating safer digital communities with AI vigilance

Automated Content Moderation

Kidas is a Philadelphia-based technology company that develops AI-powered software to protect children from online threats while gaming. Founded in 2019 by Ron Kerbs, Kidas' flagship product is ProtectMe, a monitoring application that uses artificial intelligence to detect cyberbullying, predatory behavior, scams, and other dangers in online gaming environments. The software analyzes voice and text communications across over 220 popular games and platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Discord.
ProtectMe runs in the background on a child's gaming device and uses machine learning algorithms to identify potentially harmful interactions. It then sends weekly reports and real-time alerts to parents, providing insights into their child's online activities and recommendations from child safety experts on how to address any issues. The software is designed to understand context beyond just keyword detection, allowing it to recognize evolving threats and patterns over time.
As of November 2021, Kidas offered its service for USD six per month or USD 60 per year, with a free trial period. The company positions its product as a way for parents to gain visibility into their children's gaming experiences without invading privacy. In March 2023, digital safety company Aura announced an investment in Kidas and integration of ProtectMe into Aura's own family safety platform.

Unitary is a London-based AI company specializing in visual content moderation. Founded in 2019, the company has developed proprietary machine learning algorithms that analyze multiple signals to understand the contents and contexts of videos, images, audio, and text. Unitary's technology mimics human moderation by simultaneously analyzing visual, aural, and textual content, allowing it to comprehend video and image content similar to humans. This approach helps digital platforms quickly identify inappropriate or illegal material at scale, addressing the challenge of exponentially growing online content that makes manual review unrealistic.
As of October 2023, Unitary was analyzing six million videos daily across multiple languages. The company's AI offers a scalable solution for content classification, empowering human moderators and helping platforms navigate nuanced content. Unitary's products have been used to classify billions of online images and videos. The company also maintains an open-source AI tool called Detoxify, which has been downloaded over 7 million times. Unitary's technology is designed to help platforms adapt to new regulations like the UK's Online Safety Bill and the EU's Digital Services Act, which require more proactive moderation and action against illegal content. In October 2023, Unitary reported seven figures in annual recurring revenue, demonstrating significant growth in its early stages.

Unitary

Smart Moderation is an AI-powered comment moderation service designed to protect brands' social media profiles and online communities. The company's technology automatically detects and removes inappropriate content, including hate speech, spam, trolls, and bullying across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Smart Moderation's proprietary AI system utilizes machine learning and natural language processing to understand text holistically, going beyond simple keyword matching. The technology was initially trained using Facebook's official community standards and continues to learn from users' preferences and past actions, creating a customized moderation approach over time.
The company offers a subscription-based B2B SaaS solution that operates 24/7 in real-time, providing continuous protection without human intervention. Smart Moderation's setup process is designed to be quick and straightforward, requiring only three steps: signing up with a Facebook account, connecting to social networks, and adding profiles. This streamlined approach allows brands to implement the service in less than a minute, offering immediate protection for their online presence.

Smart Moderation

Sightengine is an AI-powered content moderation platform that specializes in analyzing and filtering visual and textual content across digital platforms. The company offers APIs for image, video, and text moderation, utilizing advanced machine learning and natural language processing technologies to detect and filter unwanted content in real-time. Sightengine's capabilities include nudity detection, weapons identification, alcohol and drug recognition, as well as deepfake detection. The platform is designed to be scalable, handling up to tens of millions of images per month. Sightengine's technology also extends to optical character recognition (OCR), allowing for text extraction and analysis from images and videos. The company's solutions are applicable across various industries, including social media, ecommerce, news organizations, and online communities.

Sightengine

CyberPurify is a company focused on providing solutions for online safety and digital well-being, particularly for children. The company's technology aims to address concerns regarding inappropriate content exposure and excessive screen time among young users. CyberPurify's product offerings are designed to create a safer internet environment for children and promote healthier online habits. The company's solutions are positioned as alternatives to existing, more complex options in the market, suggesting a focus on user-friendly and accessible tools for parents and guardians.

CyberPurify

Hive is a project management software company that offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline team collaboration and workflow management. The platform provides various features to visualize project scopes, track progress, and simplify stakeholder communication. Hive's interface includes multiple views such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, calendars, and portfolio overviews, allowing users to manage tasks and projects according to their preferences. The software also incorporates functionalities like forms for creative requests, document proofing and approval processes, and integrated chat for team communication. Hive emphasizes customization, offering a range of add-ons and integrations through Hive Apps to tailor the workspace to specific needs. The company positions itself as a cost-effective solution, providing a "no-risk Hive Adoption Guarantee" and offering discounts to registered non-profit organizations.
Key customers and partnerships
Hive's content moderation services, which utilize artificial intelligence to identify and block unwanted content, are used by prominent companies including Visa, Netflix, and Reddit. The company has also collaborated with corporations such as GE, Dell/EMC, eBay, and McKesson to co-create startups. Additionally, Hive has partnered with various corporations like IBM, SAP, Intuit, TIBCO, CSAA, Microsoft, Cloudera, and Visa as sponsors for its innovation ecosystem and thought leadership forum.

Hive

Platforms that analyze and filter text-based content, including comments, chat messages, and forum posts, to detect and block hate speech, offensive language, harassment, and spam

Platforms that analyze and filter images and videos, blocking inappropriate or guideline-violating content such as nudity, violence, copyrighted materials, hate speech, and other harmful elements

Platforms that analyze and moderate a variety of media channels including text, images, audio, or video, to determine whether the content is inappropriate or violates guidelines

Platforms that offer specialized content moderation for industries like gaming, ecommerce, healthcare, and social media

Firms that offer content moderation services that combine automated AI-based content analysis with human experts’ analysis

Uses NLP to assess text, detecting policy violations such as hate speech and personal information

Generative AI can aid in policy creation and tools for summarizing large user-generated content volumes

AI and ML algorithms automatically assess user-generated content on digital platforms

The technology enables personalized policy and guideline adherence

Employs Foundation models like GPT-3 to analyze text and detect policy violations

Kidas

Sources

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless