START: Tarini Sai Padmanabhuni, Founder & CEO, DetectifAI “Real-time deepfake voice detection”

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A phone call used to mean trust.

Now it could be AI.

DetectifAI is building the next layer of cybersecurity for the AI era

Not another chatbot

Not another AI wrapper

Foundational models built to detect audio deepfakes

It started with something personal.

Tarini's grandfather lost thousands of dollars to a simple deepfake.

That moment became the reason to build.

Tarini had already been in machine learning since grade six

Nearly a decade studying how AI works

She saw where the technology was headed - and what was missing

Fraud has existed for a very long time

Cybersecurity has existed for a very long time

Deepfake detection is that same discipline extended into the AI world.

Today, DetectifAI serves clients across banking, finance, security, telecoms, and OEMs

An API that integrates into existing enterprise infrastructure

And on mobile, it goes even deeper - into the OEM layer itself.

Which makes the vision tangible.

You answer a call.

Your phone gives you a rolling update on whether that voice is likely AI or a real human

Detection during the call.

Not after the money is gone.

The scale comes from where it's deployed.

A single OEM integration can unlock protection for millions of people.

And deepfake detection is only the first step.

The larger vision is an anti-fraud landscape that helps people navigate scam calls, robocalls, and anything that falls under the purview of fraud.

The next generation of AI companies won't just build intelligence

They'll build trust

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🎙️ Tarini Padmanabhuni, CEO, DetectifAI on Fondo START pod

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00:57 Founder origin story
01:18 ML background
01:42 Audio deepfake detection
01:53 Enterprise customers
02:15 Growing AI fraud
02:39 AI cybersecurity
03:16 Enterprise integration
03:29 Telecom and OEM strategy
03:46 OEM distribution vision
04:13 Real-time call detection
04:33 Broader anti-fraud vision
04:58 AWS grant journey
05:31 Building in San Francisco
05:52 Residency experience
06:15 Advice for founders

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Check out detectif.ai