This in-depth study examines the international Safety Tech landscape, offering insights into market dynamics, emerging technologies, evolving threats, global policy and regulatory shifts, and investment opportunities. It also provides actionable recommendations to support the sector’s continued growth and innovation.

As the second edition of a three-year State of Safety Tech study commissioned by Paladin Capital, this report contributes to a broader effort to:

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• Improve data on Safety Tech companies globally
• Increase awareness of the sector amongst investors, governments, law enforcement, industry, and consumers
• Support the growth of the international Safety Tech sector over time.

Building on our 2023 findings, this year’s report explores this mission-driven and innovative sector, which boasts a growing footprint of customers and vendors. Combining insights from expert interviews, an industry survey, desk research, and quantitative analysis, the report uncovers key takeaways that shape the future of online safety.

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Key Takeaways

Resilience and Growth in the Sector

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• The Safety Tech sector demonstrated strong resilience, achieving a 14% year-on-year increase in providers globally despite a challenging global investment climate.
• While the United States (45%) and United Kingdom (28%) dominate the market, vibrant Safety Tech communities in South and Southeast Asia—led by India, Singapore, and Vietnam—are gaining momentum, driven by legislative attention to online safety.

Investment Momentum

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• Of the 402 active dedicated Safety Tech providers identified, 255 (63%) have received some form of external investment, with strong investor interest in novel solutions, generative AI safety, and emerging markets beyond the US and UK, including Ireland, India, and Singapore.

Technology Roadmap

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• Safety Tech firms have been significantly influenced by AI trends, with GenAI applications emerging across Trust & Safety, with evolving offerings for foundation models.
• The rise of GenAI has intensified online threats—spreading disinformation, creating deepfakes, and enabling sophisticated cyber fraud at an unprecedented scale. As harmful content becomes more realistic and harder to detect, the Safety Tech sector plays a vital role in combating these risks, protecting users, and preserving trust in the digital world.
• As GenAI and other emerging technologies increase the complexity of existing online threats, the Safety Tech sector is beginning to focus on developing proactive solutions, such as red teaming and provenance technologies, to anticipate and mitigate risks before they escalate.

Shifting Regulatory Landscape

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• New online safety legislation is driving the expansion and globalization of the Safety Tech market, with significant developments in the US, India, Australia.
• Clear steps have been taken to strengthen international collaboration, including the expansion of Global Online Safety Regulators Network (GOSRN), the appointment of coordinators for the Digital Services Act across EU member states, and broader cooperation on safety standards to simplify compliance for global platforms.
• The rise of generative and frontier AI models has accelerated government responses to AI safety and assurance (i.e., US, India, EU AI Act, Canada), closely aligning with the Safety Tech sector's ambitions.

Future Outlook

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• In 2025, we expect Trust & Safety teams across industry segments to take advantage of the GenAI opportunity, supported by Safety Tech vendors. 
• European regulators are likely to drive enforcement actions in the coming year, prompting more platforms to recognise Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) obligations and the business benefits of investing in automated content moderation and transparency reporting solutions.

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If you’d like to learn about this report and its findings, please reach out to Fernanda Ferreccio (Associate, PUBLIC) at fernanda.ferreccio@public.io.