MashUp Ventures Invests in Deepfake-Blocking AI Security Startup 'Steelcut'

Protection Performance Verified at Over 30 Deepfake Websites

5,800 Seoul National University Graduation Photos Securely Processed

Steelcut, an AI security company specializing in blocking and detecting deepfake generation, announced on August 11 that it has secured seed investment from MashUp Ventures. The company’s ability to commercialize proactive deepfake defense technology, previously limited to research stages, appears to have been highly praised.

Steelcut operates ‘Steelcut Protect,’ which proactively prevents deepfake synthesis, and ‘Steelcut Detect,’ which identifies images and videos that have been generated or manipulated by AI. Unlike existing solutions that only detect manipulated content after the fact, Steelcut’s technology embeds subtle signals into photographs to block deepfake creation entirely, while maintaining the original image quality.

The company has verified its protection performance at over 30 deepfake websites currently in operation. After signing an agreement with Seoul National University, Steelcut completed protective processing for 5,800 graduation photos this year. The company is also in discussions to implement its service with domestic broadcasters and major law firms.

Steelcut has filed five patents in Korea, the United States, and Europe. In May, the company was crowned final winner at the ‘SelectUSA Tech World Pitching Competition’ hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Based on a recommendation from MashUp Ventures, Steelcut was also selected for the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) program overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, securing up to 800 million won in research and development (R&D) funding.

CEO Lee Junghoon majored in computer science and economics at the College of Liberal Studies at Seoul National University and played a comprehensive role, from model development to service operations, at an AI semiconductor firm. He stated, “With generative tools becoming widespread, the misuse of deepfakes is rapidly increasing, yet most countermeasures are still focused on detecting content that has already been created. We have verified performance for both proactive defense and detection in real commercial settings and have secured funding needed for further technology advancement, so we will focus on expanding domestic and international clients.”

Eunwoo Park, Vice President of MashUp Ventures, who led the investment, said, “With major countries successively implementing AI-related regulations, demand for content authenticity verification is growing rapidly. In the long run, we expect deepfake prevention to become a basic specification for digital images, and we highly value both the market outlook and the capabilities of the team to achieve this.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.