Australian startup deploys 350K AI grannies to waste scammers' time, raises $8.15M
tinyfool · x · 2026-10-17
Apate.ai runs roughly 350K conversational AI bots posing as gullible seniors, answering scam calls, replying to phishing texts, and infiltrating scammer group chats. Their only job: play dumb, stall, and extract bank details, crypto wallets, and fake sites — then sell the intel to banks and telcos for blocking.
- Over 2.5 million conversations so far, cumulatively wasting an estimated 17 years of scammers' time
- The company raised an $8.15M seed round in August and plans global expansion
Related event: AI Decoys Waste 17 Years of Scammers' Time Across 2.5 Million Chats(4 posts)→
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