Fakespot, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup with a focus on B2C solutions, has bagged $1.3 million in its most recent seed round led by Kuwaiti venture capital firm Faith Capital. Since its launch in 2016, Fakespot has thrived to emerge a go-to destination for the analysis and authentication of online product reviews on popular websites such as Apple’s App Store, Amazon, Trip Advisor, and Yelp, to name a few.
The company’s proprietary AI platform offers consumers a way to identify genuine reviews while purchasing products and services online. Worth noting here is that despite all efforts to crack down on the fake reviews, organized fake review factories motivated by financial reasons still contribute a substantial amount of misleading reviews on popular e-commerce websites.
“Online reviews play a critical role in e-commerce by giving products and services a seal of approval from other consumers. Gaming the review systems of e-commerce platforms has become a prevalent practice for both known and unknown companies,” says Saoud Khalifah, the Founder, CEO, and CTO of Fakespot.
Khalifah, a Kuwaiti national currently based out of the U.S., added: “It is not uncommon for online shoppers to be misled by what otherwise looks like a high-quality item on a reputable e-commerce site. Fakespot is dedicated to protecting consumers from online deception on an increasing number of international e-commerce and service review platforms.”
Consumers can subscribe to Fakespot’s B2C services using the official company website, or via mobile apps (available for both Android and iOS). The company plans on using the new fund to expand its global reach and project Fakespot as an international service.