London-based Refute has raised £5M in seed funding to scale its AI-powered platform designed to detect and counter coordinated disinformation campaigns targeting governments and businesses.
The funding round was led by Amadeus Capital Partners, with participation from Playfair, Episode 1, Osney Capital and the National Security Strategic Investment Fund. The investment comes as disinformation campaigns increasingly combine automated networks, influencer amplification and AI-generated content, expanding well beyond politics and public institutions into commercial sectors.
From stealth to live deployments
Since emerging from stealth and closing a pre-seed round in 2024, Refute has developed AI-based capabilities now used by both public-sector and commercial clients. Its platform focuses on identifying early indicators of online manipulation and delivering near real-time intelligence alongside response recommendations.
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Detecting coordinated influence operations
Refute reports a sharp rise in disinformation activity across higher-risk industries. During recent European elections, including in Romania, the company identified more than 32,500 inauthentic TikTok videos linked to coordinated influence campaigns aimed at expatriate communities. In the mining sector, around 40% of monitored sites showed signs of activity associated with misleading or inauthentic actors.
Disinformation as a strategic business risk
According to CEO and co-founder Tom Garnett, Europe is entering an era where disinformation has become a core element of hybrid warfare, posing direct reputational and operational risks to organisations. He says Refute was built to help institutions and companies strengthen resilience and operate effectively in an increasingly hostile information environment.
Next steps after the funding
The new capital will be used to further develop Refute’s technology and expand its ability to support governments, democratic institutions and commercial organisations facing escalating disinformation and influence threats.
About Refute
Refute is an AI-driven technology company focused on protecting organisations from disinformation campaigns. Its platform detects, analyses and responds to malicious information operations in near real time, helping organisations identify risks, protect reputations and respond faster to emerging information threats.
