GALENA, Ill. — A Galena-based AI security company is preparing for its first round of seed funding in hopes of helping develop its technology.
SoundSafe.ai was founded in 2024 and has been operating in Galena for about two years.
The company’s premise includes several applications for AI technology, most notably a system to protect copyrighted audio at a time when AI deepfakes are disrupting the music industry, and a new AI-powered physical security alert system in testing stages with several law enforcement agencies.
Founders Johnny Stevenson and Hamad Dada met through a shared interest in the music industry.
Stevenson attended music college, learned to write his own songs, sound engineering and recording, and eventually began producing for musicians in the Chicago area. His career reached a new peak with the management of internationally touring Brazilian DJ “Flow Key”. Stevenson’s studio, Invasive Media, also does audio recording and digital marketing.
Dada began his career as a producer for local musicians in his native Canada, with special expertise in record production, computer science, and neural networks. When I first met Stevenson in person around 2021, he was working in the record production and communications side of the music industry.
As the two discuss the challenges of protecting their clients’ copyrights online, Dada shows Stevenson a new technique for silently embedding data into audio recordings.
Just as modern dollar bills are stamped with a variety of security and verification measures to prevent modern printers from destroying the currency, Dada’s methods allow records to be verified for authenticity and traced to origin, even after they have been tampered with.
They co-developed the product that year, but when ChatGPT was released over a year later in 2022, the entire codebase was “revolutionized.”
Confident in their ability to market their early technology to the music industry, the pair chose to base their business in Galena, where the cost of living was lower compared to other parts of Silicon Valley.
Even before establishing the Galena operation in late 2023, the pair was immediately considering security applications for the technology.
The company has developed another fast-response security analytics layer to enhance existing camera and audio systems.
This technology is software that is installed on the systems of law enforcement agencies and business owners.
For example, AI can be used to recognize the sound of a key being tampered with at the entrance to a building, or a video of someone threatening someone with a deadly weapon.
“What we’re really trying to reduce is response time,” Dada says. “Automated alerts and appropriate rules of engagement at the time will result in direct (911) dispatch, whether it’s just a blockade and sweep or an actual threat.”
Mr. Dada and Mr. Stevenson said that as the company worked to strengthen its core purpose and product, it was not only able to keep development costs low, but also that Garena proved to be a fertile testing ground for technology.
SoundSafe is working with the Joe Davis County Sheriff’s Department to pilot the software. They are also working on an investigative audio and video tool for free beta with the Illinois State Police.
In a recent deepfake incident involving a photo of a female student at Cascade (Iowa) High School, local law enforcement reached out to SoundSafe as part of an analysis of the complex data.
In the future, SoundSafe plans to launch a dedicated line of hardware to house the product and work on drone-based software that can autonomously detect threats at events.
“It goes beyond that,” Stevenson said. “Municipalities are also potential customers because they already have a lot of digital infrastructure in place. Dubuque has hundreds of cameras. Many people don’t realize how much new AI technology can do with what they already have.”
Ultimately, the company hopes to sell its technology to the defense sector and large city governments.
Stephenson said SoundSafe has also made strides in audio watermarking since its incorporation in 2024. The company participated in a 12-week “Innovation Accelerator” program with leading music rights organization ASCAP and was recognized as one of the top five most promising startups in the field.
“We’re setting a precedent before the disruption[of AI’s entry]subsides,” Dada said. “There are a lot of lawsuits going on right now between big companies that own copyrights[using generative AI]and people who are infringing copyrights. There are two forks in the road: settlements or licensing agreements. Regardless of the outcome, we will be the cornerstone of a solution that will be fairer for everyone. We are creating transparency where none existed before.”
At the moment, with few paid contracts and a ton of proof-of-concept with stakeholders, the company is working with local universities to develop an AI internship program.
They are already working with several students at Loras College and are in talks with Clark University and Northeast Iowa Community College.
The two recently spoke at Clark University’s AI panel, urging teachers to embrace AI to help prepare students for the new world.
They have already participated in credit-bearing internship programs such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Iowa, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.
“Many schools don’t offer the depth of research that we do,” Stevenson said. “We have students who want to push the boundaries of their field.”
He said that because AI is a new field, there are opportunities for a variety of disciplines to inform how collected data is used and address bias in AI, including business, engineering sensors, data science, and even ethics.
“The number one thing we offer is first-hand experience in the industry,” says Dada. “From the beginning, we have worked directly with our sales channels, exposing our staff to everything it takes to do the job and ultimately make it into a product.”
We currently have about 4 full-time developers and 10-15 interns at any given time.
The company is currently being evaluated by Eqvista in preparation for a $500,000 pre-seed financing, which, if successful, is planned as a one-year “runway” for the next $2 million to $5 million in SAFEs and convertible debt.
