Blackbird.AI announced it has secured $28 million in new strategic funding, as the company reported accelerating growth driven by rising demand from enterprises and national security organizations for tools to detect and counter narrative-based disinformation, misinformation, and deepfake-driven campaigns. Blackbird.AI said participating investors included Ten Eleven Ventures, Dorilton Ventures, and cybersecurity executives Dave DeWalt, the CEO and founder of NightDragon and former CEO of FireEye and McAfee, and Chris Young, a former Microsoft executive and former CEO of McAfee.
The company said the financing brings total funding since inception to $58 million and follows 118% year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue, alongside a threefold increase in customer logo wins.
Blackbird.AI positions its platform as a defense-in-depth against “narrative attacks” that can cause financial, operational, reputational, and even physical harm. The company said its AI-driven narrative intelligence technology is being adopted by Global 2000 companies and national security organizations to identify harmful narratives early, map their spread, and understand the actors and networks amplifying them.
The funding will be used to expand go-to-market efforts, deepen customer support, and enhance the company’s Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform, Blackbird.AI said. The company cited growing urgency around AI-enabled influence and disinformation operations and pointed to third-party research estimating a rapidly expanding market for tools and services designed to combat misinformation and disinformation at scale.
Blackbird.AI described a range of threat scenarios it says are increasingly common, including campaigns targeting executives or alleging corporate financial instability that can move markets, consumer-brand claims that spread quickly online and fuel boycotts, and viral rumors about critical infrastructure disruptions that can trigger emergency responses and operational chaos. The company also pointed to geopolitical influence operations, including AI-generated imagery or video falsely attributed to world leaders that can spread rapidly and heighten diplomatic tensions.
The company has also sought to expand its ecosystem and product surface area through partnerships and new capabilities. Blackbird.AI said it has established strategic partnerships with World Wide Technology (WWT), BlackCloak, and Security Risk Advisors, and launched Compass Context to help users assess online claims across links, posts, and videos, as well as Compass Vision, which it said is designed to help identify AI-generated images and videos.
KEY QUOTES:
“The cost of narrative attacks has collapsed, and the consequences have exploded. Threat actors and nation states are operationalizing narrative warfare against countries, companies, and executives… With support from Ten Eleven Ventures, Dorilton Ventures, and cybersecurity executive leaders – Dave DeWalt and Chris Young, we will accelerate our leadership position in the market to enable our customers to win against this new threat vector.”
Wasim Khaled, CEO and Co-founder, Blackbird.AI
“Blackbird.AI stands at the forefront of narrative intelligence, offering a dominant approach to protecting organizations from this new threat of narrative-based disinformation attacks… it’s clear that Blackbird.AI’s technology is more essential than ever, providing impact and value to the most important organizations in the world.”
Dave DeWalt, CEO, NightDragon; Former CEO, McAfee and FireEye
“I have been involved in reviewing hundreds of investment decisions… Blackbird.AI has uniquely innovated using AI to unlock new and differentiated insights for its customers. They have assembled the right team that’s driving true market momentum.”
Chris Young, Former Microsoft EVP Strategy and Ventures; Former CEO, McAfee
