Savi’s app aims to protect consumers from realistic AI scams like kidnappers demanding ransom

Brothers Patrick and Ryan Coughlin, both with extensive tech backgrounds, have launched Savi Security, a startup aimed at protecting consumers from AI-generated scams delivered via text, email, or phone calls. The company has raised $7 million in seed funding and is launching its app for iPhone and Android. The inspiration came from a personal incident where the founders' mother received a convincing AI-generated kidnapping scam call that spoofed her daughter's voice and phone number. Patrick Coughlin, who previously worked in national cyber defense and at Cisco, noted that cheap and powerful generative AI tools have made it financially viable for cybercriminals to target consumers with sophisticated scams that were once reserved for enterprises and governments. He explained that voice cloning can now be done from just three seconds of audio found on social media. The FTC recently reported on the growing threat of such AI-powered consumer scams.