Penemue raises €1.7M to scale AI hate speech detection

The German startup detects online hate, digital violence, and disinformation across 89 languages in real time, and works with public prosecutors and police alongside commercial clients. Investors were not disclosed.

Penemue, the Freiburg-based TrustTech startup developing AI to detect and counter online hate speech, digital violence, and disinformation, has raised more than €1.7 million in a new funding round. The investors were not disclosed.

The company was founded by Jonas Navid Mehrabanian Al-Nemri, Sara Egetemeyr, and Marlon Lückert. Egetemeyr, who serves as co-founder and managing director, framed the problem in terms that extend beyond individual victims: “It is not just the people affected who are victims, but everyone who reads along the fans, the communities, the next generation.”

Penemue’s technology monitors social media comments and direct messages in real time across 89 languages, identifying content that constitutes hate speech, threats, or potentially criminal communication, including coded language, slang, dialects, and emojis.

The AI is continuously updated to recognise newly emerging terms and cultural nuances. Users receive immediate alerts and can hide or delete problematic content with a single click, or file a complaint directly through the platform for legal prosecution.

An impact evaluation conducted by the University of Mannheim has documented positive effects in combating digital violence.

The client base spans Bundesliga clubs in Germany’s first and second divisions, politicians operating at federal level, companies, media houses, and artists and influencers across Germany and Europe.

Penemue also works directly with public prosecutors, police authorities, and official reporting offices to enable more consistent prosecution of digital crimes. The dual track, commercial SaaS for organisations and licensing to governments who distribute the tool to politicians and NGOs, reflects a deliberate choice to operate as a for-profit business rather than a grant-dependent one.

Egetemeyr has noted that raising the capital required to develop expensive AI technology at speed is easier as a private company, particularly when investors share the underlying mission.

The legal tailwind behind the market is concrete. Under the EU Digital Services Act, organisations operating digital communication channels are legally required to implement protective measures against harmful content, a mandate that creates a compliance-driven demand for platforms like Penemue’s, independent of social commitment.

The new capital will fund further AI development, new European and international partnerships, and deeper co-operation with public institutions.

Penemue is a member of Deutsche Telekom’s TechBoost programme and a partner of the #NoHateSpeech initiative, and has previously been recognised as AI Champion of Baden-Württemberg.