A 'troll-free' Internet

Photo: Carmen Weld

The Kelowna Community Sift team at Pink Shirt Day in February 2016

A local tech startup will continue to expand on its recent success with $1.6 million in new funding.

Two Hat Security, the creator of the advanced community management software Community Sift, announced the the new funding Tuesday.

iNovia Capital led the financing and will be working with the company through its next phase of growth.

Comerica is also providing an additional $900,000 of bank funding as part of this financing.

As of today, Community Sift services communities spanning over 195 countries worldwide, and is under contract to process four billion messages a day.

“Our team is doing something nearly impossible: creating a troll-free Internet,” says Chris Priebe, CEO and founder of Community Sift.

“We chose iNovia because we believe in what they bring to the table. We’ve already been able to achieve great things with our current scale, but we need to do significantly more if we are going to seriously put a dent in cyberbullying and hate speech. With iNovia’s help, we will be the go-to solution to create healthy online communities.”

The main focus of the company going forward will be on sales and product.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to work closely with iNovia. The level of expertise that they bring to our organization has proven to be a huge asset," says Karen Olsson, COO at Two Hat.

"They genuinely understand what we are trying to achieve, both from a business and global impact perspective.”

This recent funding announcement comes right on the heels of the company's mission and story being shared by media all over the world.

More than 200 media outlets have covered Community Sift in the recent months with a focus on their success dealing with the issue of online harassment.

While the debate rages over who is responsible for the safety of Internet users, Two Hat says some platforms have begun to step forward as leaders in the movement toward a safer social web.

Community Sift recently signed on ROBLOX and WildWorks (creators of Animal Jam) as new clients.

“Interacting through online communities is increasingly a key element of building and maintaining relationships,” says Shawn Abbott, partner at iNovia Capital.

“Every community we’re a part of has its own unique and nuanced culture, shaped by its membership’s shared expectations and behaviour. I was struck by Chris’ unparalleled command of these powerful ideas and Community Sift’s affirmative approach to creating positive communities. We believe Community Sift will emerge as the preferred global platform for achieving and reinforcing every community’s unique goals.”