Mission-minded Spotlight: Pyrra
Welcome to the June edition of ✨“Mission-minded: Building for Tomorrow" ✨
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It’s no secret that the drastic adoption of AI tools have further exacerbated the spread of misinformation, making it harder for all of us to decipher what’s real, what’s fake, and where to get an accurate source.
Interestingly, as Crunchbase puts it, AI tools are also being leveraged to fight AI falsehoods – which we support wholeheartedly. That’s why this month's spotlight is on Pyrra, an intelligence platform that protects people, assets and brands from disinformation, physical violence and hate speech.
😱 1) Why care? The internet has the power to harm people – both online and offline, by undermining democracy, increasing political polarization, spreading conspiracy theories and damaging reputations, among other ripple effects. According to the results of KFF’s Health Misinformation Tracking Poll, 83% of adults say that inaccurate information in the U.S. is a “major problem,” and most feel uncertain about the accuracy of information they’re digesting, particularly related to major news events.
🔥 2) What makes the co. credible? Pyrra started as a research and development project of Human Rights First, a historic NGO based in New York, and was founded by former military and intelligence professionals. The company has raised $2.3 million in funding led by Ducera Investments with participation from Andav Capital and Growth Science Ventures. Pyrra is already being used by Fortune 500’s, NGOs, academic researchers and media outlets like NPR.
💓 3) What I love about their story? Protection from disinformation is a human right, yet it’s not so easy to achieve. The company’s co-founder and CEO Dr. Welton Chang has quite a lengthy and impressive resume, experiences that, I imagine, played a part in developing Pyrra. He was the first CTO at Human Rights First and founded HRF's Innovation Lab. Welton was also a senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory where he led teams and developed technical solutions to address disinformation and online propaganda. Plus, he was an intelligence officer in the army for nearly a decade. Package that experience up and you have someone who has the skills, desire, and know-how to make a real difference.
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In case you missed it, ✨“Mission-minded: Building for tomorrow" ✨is a monthly series where I highlight an under-the-radar founder or company that’s building something that has the power to enact real change in our world. From my personal perspective and understanding, I’ll tell you why you should care about what they’re building, what makes them credible, and what I love about their story. Here are the companies we’ve spotlighted so far this year:
🤱May: Canopie, an app dedicated to providing mothers, including pregnant women, with mental health resources.
🧠April: Wayhaven, an adaptive, chat-based mental wellness app to support the unique challenges faced by college students - available 24/7.
💧March: Varuna, a company that enables the delivery of clean water efficiently by providing water system operators with actionable data and insights to identify blindspots
✊🏿February: Acclinate, increasing health equity by making research more inclusive by helping pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations access and engage communities of color
♀️ January: Mission-Driven Tech, a company that's building innovative solutions that normalize and modernize Cervical Health, a historically underfunded and misunderstood field of medicine