The big picture: Checkstep, a London-based AI platform that helps online businesses detect harmful content, enforce moderation policies, and stay compliant with regulators, has raised £3 million in a new funding round.
Why it matters:
- Market Growth: The global content moderation services market exceeded $12.48 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $42.36 billion by 2035, driven by the explosion of user-generated content.
- Regulatory Pressure: Regulations like the EU’s Digital Services Act mandate robust moderation systems, with non-compliance carrying fines up to 6% of global annual turnover.
- Volume Challenge: User-generated content is estimated to account for over 80% of all online content by 2025, making manual review unsustainable at scale.
How it works:
- Automation: Checkstep’s end-to-end platform automates over 98% of moderation calls across text, images, video, and audio.
- Auditability: The system maintains a full audit trail, allowing companies to demonstrate compliance to regulators by showing exactly what was reviewed and why.
- Scalability: The platform processes more than 60 million pieces of content monthly for customers including Trustpilot, JustGiving, Daily Mail, and MoneySavingExpert.
The catch: Content moderation is complex, with rules differing across regions, languages, and contexts, requiring highly adaptable infrastructure. While Checkstep offers a unified system, the evolving regulatory landscape and the nuanced nature of harmful content mean continuous product development and policy updates are critical to maintaining market leadership against competing solutions.
Key Facts
- Company: Checkstep
- Amount: £3M
- Investors: Alea Capital Partners (lead), Slow Ventures, Look AI Ventures
- Founder: Guillaume Bouchard
- Sector: AI Content Moderation
- Headquarters: London, UK
