Written by Christina Levada
Leading UK venture capital funds, Fuel Ventures and Oxford Capital, have co-led a $1 million Pre-Seed funding round in Egregious, a pioneering company developing advanced technologies to defend humans from AI misuse. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report placed disinformation as the #1 global risk for the second consecutive year, alongside cyber espionage and societal polarisation. This investment marks a significant milestone in Egregious’ mission to safeguard organisations from AI-driven deception, disinformation and harmful content.
Fuel Ventures, a leading UK venture capital fund, has co-led a $1 million Pre-Seed funding round with Oxford Capital in Egregious, an analysis platform which protects the internet from superhuman AI deception, misinformation, disinformation and polarisation.
Egregious is at the forefront of Human AI, on a mission to defend humans from the misuse of AI by delivering transformative solutions across critical sectors.
These include:
- National Security and Defence: providing private and secure Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT)
- Finance & Corporate Security: safeguarding enterprises from personnel risk, market manipulation, and AI-driven scams
- Marketing & Communications: driving AI-powered multi-platform social media marketing strategies
- Cybersecurity: detecting and mitigating open-source intelligence (OSINT) risks
- Insurance: Enabling insurers to identify and assess global security threats through AI-driven social media intelligence.
This funding will accelerate Egregious’ product development and scale its cutting-edge Human AI platform. With the backing of Fuel Ventures, Oxford Capital, and a network of strategic investors, Egregious is well-positioned to transform behavioural analysis and digital risk management. This investment underscores the growing importance of Human AI solutions in an increasingly interconnected world.
Rupert Small, PhD, CEO and Founder of Egregious, commented:
“AI-powered bots and agents are a powerful tool but they also pose a growing threat. These AI agents give people superhuman powers to shape narratives, manipulate systems, and undermine trust at scale. At Egregious, we’re building a defense line for humanity. With Oxford Capital and Fuel Ventures behind us, we’re ready to face these global challenges head-on and redefine how we combat AI-driven deception.”
Mark Pearson, founder of Fuel Ventures, commented:
“Egregious represents a bold step forward in the AI space. Rupert and his team have demonstrated exceptional expertise and have an unwavering commitment to addressing some of the most critical challenges facing society today due to evolving technology in the world. We’re thrilled to support Egregious as they lead the charge in Human AI innovation, and look forward to supporting them grow in 2025.”
About Egregious
Egregious is an advanced analysis platform which has developed AI-ready Social Media Intelligence tools and Narrative Intelligence solutions to detect and counter the misuse of AI against humans. At the forefront of Human AI, Egregious is on a mission to help organisations across critical sectors such as the public sector & NGO, finance & corporate security, media , communications and marketing, to counter AI-powered deception, disinformation, misinformation and polarisation.
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