Savi has launched a mobile app designed to protect families from AI-driven scams and fraud. The Los Angeles-based startup has also raised USD $7 million in seed funding led by Acrew Capital.
Available on iOS and Android, the app screens calls, text messages and other digital communications before users engage with them. Savi offers one subscription plan priced at USD $7.99 a month or USD $62.99 a year, covering unlimited family members, including parents, partners, children and other dependants.
The launch comes as consumer fraud linked to digital communications continues to rise in the US. Savi cited government estimates that American consumers lose nearly USD $200 billion a year to cybercriminals, while imposter scams account for about one-third of reported fraud cases.
The company is targeting a part of the security market that has often received less attention than corporate and government systems. It argues that advances in artificial intelligence have made scams more convincing and more personalised, while consumer protections have not kept pace.
Consumer focus
Savi said its software uses behavioural AI to assess patterns in calls, messages and other communications. Its listed features include text filtering, voicemail screening, live call monitoring and a tool that lets users submit suspicious messages, emails or images for review.
One feature allows users to add Savi to a call already in progress. The software listens silently and alerts the user if it detects signs associated with fraud. Another function screens unknown callers before a call reaches the recipient, although that feature is not yet available.
Savi has also introduced a free tool called Scamwise, which lets users check whether a message, call, email or link is likely to be fraudulent. According to the company, Scamwise has reviewed nearly 100,000 submissions since launch, with more than half identified as scams.
Examples cited by Savi include fake eCommerce websites, government impersonation attempts and banking scams. The company said the free service will remain available as a public utility while also helping track emerging scam patterns.
Founders' story
Savi was founded by brothers Patrick and Ryan Coughlin after their mother nearly fell victim to a voice-clone scam. Patrick Coughlin previously worked in cybersecurity and national security roles at TruSTAR, Splunk, Cisco and Booz Allen Hamilton, while Ryan Coughlin has held AI and machine learning product roles at Apple, Spotify, JW Player and Sounder.
Patrick Coughlin has also written a book on the growth of AI-enabled fraud, reflecting the company's effort to pair consumer education with software tools. The founders' central premise is that techniques once associated with sophisticated cyber attacks are now being used at household level through calls, texts and online messages.
"For decades, governments and enterprises have been the target of choice for hackers and cybercriminals," said Patrick Coughlin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Savi. "With AI, bad actors are targeting consumers with new levels of sophistication and scale. We're building Savi because consumers and families deserve more innovation and digital protection that works proactively, before the damage is done."
Funding round
The seed round was led by Acrew Capital, with participation from Magnify Ventures, TTCER and Resolute Ventures. Savi said the funds will be used to continue developing its behavioural AI systems.
Backers are betting that consumer-facing anti-fraud software can become a larger category as AI lowers the barrier to running convincing scams. Investors have spent heavily on corporate cybersecurity for years, but products designed for households have remained a smaller segment.
Lauren Kolodny of Acrew Capital linked the investment case to that gap in the market. "Governments and enterprises are investing in cyber defense, but consumers have missed out on innovation," said Lauren Kolodny, Partner at Acrew Capital. "We all need a new generation of protections for today's AI-powered threats. Savi has the mission, vision and technical depth the problem demands."
Growing threat
Savi's launch comes amid broader concern over the use of artificial intelligence in fraud schemes. The company pointed to figures showing that Americans aged 60 and over lost an estimated USD $81.6 billion in 2025, while younger adults have also shown high vulnerability to online scams.
That spread across age groups is central to the company's family-based pricing model. Rather than charging per user, Savi said it wants one account to cover a household and any dependants, an approach aimed in part at relatives who help manage digital risk for older family members.
Erin West, a former Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney and Founder of Operation Shamrock, said the problem often becomes visible only after losses have already occurred. "AI has industrialised the scam economy. Families are being targeted with a level of sophistication that used to be reserved for nation-state attacks," said Erin West, former Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney and Founder of Operation Shamrock. "By the time these cases reach my former colleagues, the money is all too often already gone. Savi is building the kind of protection every family needs."