This win recognized the urgency of protecting digital interactions from deepfakes and the progress our team has made toward deployable, real-time detection across audio, video, images and identity workflows.
Neural Defend takes first place in New York
We are proud to share that Neural Defend won first place at the Everything AI Startup Pitch Competition on 3 June 2026 during New York Tech Week.
Our co-founder Piyush Verma represented Neural Defend at the rooftop competition at Mr. Purple in New York City. The pitch introduced our work in detecting deepfakes and synthetic media across audio, video, images and digital identity workflows.
The competition brought together ten AI startups working across enterprise software, healthcare, social platforms, financial technology and applied artificial intelligence. Neural Defend placed first, followed by Tangering AI in second place and Corseco in third.
Presenting the case for real-time digital trust
During the pitch, we focused on a challenge that now affects every digital business: how can an organization trust the person, media or evidence on the other side of a digital interaction?
Neural Defend is building detection technology for high-risk workflows where manipulated media can influence onboarding, payments, claims, investigations, customer calls and executive decisions. Our aim is to make deepfake detection practical enough to operate inside the tools and processes teams already use.
The first-place recognition included approximately US$50,000 in equity-free prize value and gave our team a larger platform for the work ahead.
A global founder and investor community
The judging panel brought together investors, startup operators and AI leaders from FirstMark, AWS, Rethink Capital Partners, Amazon, OpenAI, Geek Ventures, Antler, Wischoff Ventures, nTop and The Brained Inc.
It was a privilege to share the stage with founders applying AI to a wide range of real-world problems. We thank the judges for their time, questions and feedback, and Fundraising Bootcamp for bringing the community together during New York Tech Week.
What this milestone means for Neural Defend
This win strengthens our conviction that deepfake detection must move beyond isolated media analysis and become part of everyday digital risk infrastructure.
We will continue working with financial institutions, media organizations, enterprises and technology platforms to help teams identify manipulated content before it affects a critical decision.
Event details
People and companies at the event
Judges and panel
Companies at the event
- Neural Defend — first place
- Tangering AI — second place
- Corseco — third place
- Arya Labs
- CX — A better way to be social
- SourceEazy
- Unbroker
- Evos
- Cx Precision Medicine
Event gallery
Event photos
Related links