Anti-toxicity startup L1ght shutting down after acquisition falls through
Anti-toxicity startup L1ght shutting down after acquisition falls through
The company, which developed technology to identify and analyze harmful online content, has notified all 22 of its employees that they are being laid off
Israeli startup L1ght, which developed technology to identify and analyze harmful online content, is shutting down. The company, founded by Ron Porat and Zohar Levkovitz, has notified all 22 of its employees that they are being laid off.
L1ght was founded in 2018 with the goal of eradicating online toxicity through artificial intelligence algorithms that detect toxic and abusive behaviors. It raised a $15 million Seed round in February 2020. The round was co-led by Mangrove Capital Partners and Tribeca Venture Partners, with participation from Western Technology Investment.
The company was co-founded by Porat and Levkovitz, who previously co-founded marketing technology company Amobee, which was acquired in 2012 by Singapore-based telecommunications company Singtel for over $300 million. Levkovitz served as the CEO until the end of 2020 when he was replaced by Avner Sakal. Porat left the company last year.
According to the company, it was ultimately forced to shut down after a deal to be acquired fell through. “The company developed advanced technology to identify toxic content on the internet. The company negotiated for a long time to be acquired by an American public company. The process was not completed at the last minute due to the economic slowdown in the market which also affected the buying company. The company sold its intellectual property and closed down. The management and the board of directors thank all the employees for their tremendous investment and achievements in this important task.”
