Signal AI Raises $165 Million to Fuel Global Growth

Risk/reputation intelligence platform Signal AI is in expansion mode after raising $165 million.

The new funding round, led by tech investor Battery Ventures and announced Wednesday (Sept. 23), will help U.K.-based Signal make acquisitions that help it deepen data collection, sector expertise and artificial intelligence research.

In addition, the company aims to accelerate its risk intelligence product development, while expanding its footprint in the U.S. and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Our AI platform started in a garage, and evolved to power the world’s most complex enterprises,” said Signal AI founder and CEO David Benigson. “Partnering with Battery Ventures – a firm with a 40-year track record of innovation – will accelerate our global growth.”

“With technological, operational and financial challenges emerging faster, every executive I meet is asking the same question: ‘What’s next, and how can I get ahead of it?’” Benigson added. “Together with Battery, we aim to equip leaders with the deepest, most intuitive way to answer that question. In doing so, we can transform how the most sophisticated companies mitigate risk – and harness opportunity.”

The release outlines some of the ways various industries employ Signal’s services, such as a streaming company that “surfaces early warning signals about shifting content regulations in new markets,” to make sure all productions and investments are compliant.

In another scenario, a retailer identifies possible cyber breaches by scouring social, news and dark web sources, and fixes vulnerabilities before hackers can strike.

In other AI news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week about the breakneck advancement of artificial intelligence that has caused governments to scramble to establish regulations. At the same time industry lobbyists say too much regulation could hinder innovation.

“From America’s AI Action Plan to the European Union’s AI Act, governments are putting together various levels of oversight,” that report said. “Also in the United States, a proposed bill before Congress would set up an AI sandbox where companies can test new technologies.”

The past few days have seen three of the world’s biggest tech companies put forth their latest moves on AI and infrastructure.

For example, Google announced Monday the expansion of its Frontier Safety Framework to examine how advanced AI models behave in high-risk scenarios, including those in which systems might resist shutdown commands or pursue unintended objectives.

“The company is stress-testing models for self-preservation and avoidance behaviors to anticipate potential misuse and reinforce safeguards,” the report added.