Moonshot Series-A

This is the Moonshot pitch deck to raise a $7m series-a round in 2021.

About

Moonshot designs technologies and methodologies to reach people both engaging in and affected by a range of online harms, including disinformation, human trafficking, gender-based violence, and child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Moonshot has delivered threat monitoring and analysis, digital campaigns, tailored interventions, and a range of other services in over 57 countries and 33 languages, for governments, tech companies, and international organizations. Its clientele includes the Department of Homeland Security, USAID, the US Department of State, the UK Home Office, and companies such as Facebook and Google.

A startup that helps Facebook and Google fight fake news behind the scenes recently raised $7 million.

Washington-based Moonshot, which was founded in 2015, uses tech to reach those affected by and involved in the production of disinformation, gender-based violence, human trafficking, and other online harms.

The company raised the funds in a Series A round from venture capital firm Beringea and UK-based investor Mercia.

Misinformation became a focal point of the 2010s, with political polarization, extremist radicalization, and even election results attributed to a rise in poor-quality information online.

Moonshot was set up by Vidhya Ramalingam and Ross Frenett, who met while working at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an anti-extremism think tank based in London.

The startup counts Facebook, Google, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the UK’s Home Office among its clients.

The two tech giants are among those that have been forced to step up their anti-disinformation efforts over the past 18 months, as conspiracy theories and anti-vaxx sentiment spread like wildfire in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The startup’s mission is to “end online harms” and to also provide vulnerable people with positive, supportive messages to guide them away from nefarious content. The company also claims to have safeguarded millions of internet users across the US who were seeking access to extremist and conspiracy theory content in the runup to the election and insurrection on January 6.

Among the techniques deployed by Moonshot is something called the “redirect method”, which essentially uses targeted ads to connect people searching for harmful content to alternative messages. Moonshot believes the ads can undermine harmful narratives when targeted effectively and thus dissuade people from engaging with them.

The new funds will be used to drive the firm’s international expansion, develop its tech, and expand its operations to counter harms like organized crime.

Speaking in June, Ross Frenett, Moonshot cofounder, said the startup was a “new type of company.”

“We don’t see social good as an added extra, something for the occasional away day or well-meaning platitude,” he said. “Solving the world’s hardest and most complex problems sits at the core of our business model.”

Ramalingam, the Moonshot cofounder, said there had never been a more important time to scale the business.

“What makes Moonshot unique is the boldness of our mission, combined with our unfailing commitment to civil liberties, and to the people who are most affected by online harms,” she said.

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