Kelowna, Canada, Nov. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two Hat Security, a Canadian technology company that provides AI-powered content moderation solutions, today announced it has raised $7.5 million in a new funding round led by Tam Holdings, an investment firm based in San Francisco. Also participating in the round are Makers Fund, a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting founders in interactive entertainment, and Taubman Capital, a private equity investment firm for the Taubman family.

Proceeds from the funding will be used to grow Two Hat’s team, ramp-up marketing and customer acquisition, and develop additional capabilities in Two Hat’s platform, including extending support for 20 existing languages to the same standard as English models. In order to train AI models to find and ultimately prevent conversations that indicate cyberbullying, encouragement of suicide, radicalization into terrorism, or child sexual grooming, it is essential to standardize definitions of online harms and extend protections across all languages.

“It’s complex. Other languages don’t have as many datasets or tools to work with but we have found a reproducible way to scale,” said Chris Priebe, CEO and founder of Two Hat. “We are pleased to join with Tam Holdings, Makers Fund and Taubman Capital to bring world class content moderation to our clients.”

“There is an increasing need for tools to protect the users of games and other virtual communities from harmful content,” said Ian Martin-Katz, Managing Partner at Tam Holdings. “Since we first spoke with Two Hat over a year ago, Chris and the team have continued to impress us with their dedication to customers and consistent innovation.” In conjunction with the investment, Tam Holdings will join Two Hat’s Board of Directors.

“Specifically in gaming, we see the emergence of virtual metaverses, where players of different ages and with diverse backgrounds gather,” added Ryann Lai, Partner at Makers Fund. “Two Hat is ideally positioned to enable maximum freedom of expression for each, without compromising safety or inclusivity.”

Two Hat is creating a future where bullying, porn and violence aren’t the cost of being online. “To fulfill that vision, we need partners,” said Two Hat’s Priebe. “Behind Tam Holdings, Taubman Capital and Makers Fund is rare experience, great growth partners, and the skill to acquire more companies.”

About Two Hat Security

Two Hat’s AI-powered content moderation platform classifies, filters, and escalates more than 30 billion human interactions each month, including messages, usernames, images and video streams, all in real-time. More than a filter, we provide all-in-one content moderation, with data analysis, content escalations, flexible workflows, auto-moderated user reports and more. www.twohat.com

About Tam Holdings

Tam Holdings LLC is a San Francisco-based investment firm that partners with privately-held companies across a range of industries. The firm invests in businesses that exhibit strong growth, attractive economic models and sustainable competitive advantages. www.tamhold.com

About Taubman Capital

Taubman Capital is a private equity investment firm for the Taubman family. Over the last 69 years, the Taubman family has built Taubman Centers (NYSE:TCO) into a leading global owner and operator of regional and super regional malls. Through Taubman Capital, the family is building an investment portfolio of world class businesses led by exceptional management teams outside of its core real estate holdings. cmaccarron@taubmancapital.com

About Makers Fund

Makers Fund is a venture capital firm created to support founders by combining deep industry experience with multi-stage investment across seed to series B. The team is dedicated to furthering growth and innovation in global interactive entertainment industry. www.makersfund.com