Purcell was inspired to create the company after discovering intimate videos of him had been uploaded to a porn site without his knowledge. The service is currently aimed at YouTubers and Instagramers, but plans to expand to tackle physical goods like counterfeit merchandise. The company claims a high success rate, with 90 to 100% of URLs delisted, and has a provisional patent on its model. It faces competition from other companies in the brand protection space, including Rulta, BranditScan, Red Points, and Vobile.
Key takeaways:
- Dan Purcell's startup Ceartas has raised $4.5 million in a Seed round from European VC Earlybird and Upside VC, a fund established by The Sidemen, a YouTube influencer group.
- Ceartas uses AI to protect brands and content creators from piracy by de-indexing content and automatically issuing legal notices for pirated content, claiming to reduce the visibility of problematic content on Google by 98%.
- The company, based in Dublin and Berlin, plans to open an office in Los Angeles and has signed partnerships with platforms such as OnlyFans and Fanfix.
- Despite competition from other companies in the brand protection space, Ceartas is listed as attaining 90 to 100% of URLs delisted on Google's transparency index, suggesting that its AI-driven approach is effective.