AI Is Making The Internet’s Bot Problem Worse. This $2 Billion Startup Is On The Front Lines

Forbes

Persona helps companies like OpenAI, LinkedIn and Reddit verify the identities of millions of users at a time when AI agents have made it increasingly difficult to do so. Now, it has $200 million in fresh funding from top VC firms.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2025/04/30/ai-is-making-the-internets-bot-problem-worse-this-2-billion-startup-is-on-the-front-lines/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, AI is making the internet's bot problem worse.

00:05This $2 billion startup is on the front lines.

00:10The internet is drowning in bots.

00:12They already make up about 50% of all internet traffic, a number that's poised to skyrocket

00:17to 90% by 2030 as people start using so-called AI agents to do mundane internet tasks on

00:24their behalf, like open accounts, shop for shoes, buy tickets, and order food.

00:30It's a huge problem for companies.

00:32Online retailers don't want bots to scoop up coveted products faster than any human

00:36could, banks need to make sure fraudsters aren't able to take over accounts, and social

00:41networks want to keep out impersonators.

00:44Nor do they want to prevent the growing number of good bots from doing what their owners intend.

00:50Throw artificial intelligence into the mix, and it gets worse.

00:54Old-school bot detection techniques like CAPTCHAs, where users are asked to select squares that

00:59contain a motorcycle or decipher a scrambled word to prove they're humans, are simply no

01:04match for sophisticated models.

01:07And AI has also made it magnitudes easier to mimic a person's voice, spoof their face,

01:12and create fake IDs, according to Rick Song, co-founder and CEO of identity verification platform

01:19Persona.

01:21Song, who is 34 years old, told Forbes, quote,

01:24Maybe this constant distinguishing of, is this a bot or not, is kind of a pointless distinction

01:29that may not make sense anymore.

01:31The real question is just who's behind the AI, and what's their intent?

01:37Making sure that a user is who they say they are is at the core of San Francisco-based Persona,

01:42which offers ID authentication software to 3,000 companies, including OpenAI, LinkedIn, Etsy, Reddit,

01:50DoorDash, and Robinhood.

01:53It uses a blend of methods to verify a person's identity, including asking them to upload a

01:58photo of their government ID, take a selfie or record a video while turning their head or

02:02blinking, or scan the NFC chip embedded in a passport.

02:07In case a person poses significant risk, they may be asked to take a so-called, quote,

02:12test test, where they are asked to hold up their ID and move their face to prove they are alive

02:17and are the real owners of their ID.

02:19The company's machine learning models can also pick up risk signals such as the network a person's

02:24using, how far they are from the location on their ID, the way they're interacting with the device,

02:29and their online presence.

02:31Song said, quote,

02:33Even today, a lot of bot activity is very mechanical in nature. A lot of bots tend to use copy-paste way more,

02:39or there's more hesitations between inputs, or just a very rhythmic kind of behavior.

02:45Founded in 2018, Persona announced last Wednesday that it has raised $200 million in Series D funding,

02:52led by Ribbit Capital and Founders Fund, along with participation from existing investors,

02:58CO2, Index Ventures, First Round Capital, and Bond. Song said his company, now valued at $2

03:06billion and with $417 million in total funding, signed $100 million worth of annual contracts last

03:13year. Persona's success stems from building customized verification processes, called, quote,

03:20flows. It cater to its customers' specific needs and are adjusted based on the precise use case and risk

03:26level a person presents. For instance, Persona creates a different flow for a person trying to verify

03:33their age to order alcohol on a food delivery app versus for someone applying for a loan.

03:39Song said, quote, There's no one-size-fits-all for identity.

03:44But while bots and fraudsters have always been part of the internet,

03:48AI presents a staggering new challenge.

03:51U.S. companies lose anywhere between $18 billion to $31 billion each year due to AI-based attacks,

03:58according to a report by cybersecurity firm Imperva. Global losses from bot attacks where

04:04scammers run up server costs range from $68 billion to $116 billion. One way bots attack businesses

04:13is by creating fake accounts that can cash in on incentives like referral credit, discounts,

04:19and promotions. For full coverage, check out Rashi Srivastava's piece on Forbes.com.

04:28This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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