Aiba uses Norwegian research and AI to keep online communities safe

The research behind Aiba began long before the company was founded. At the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Gjøvik, Professor Patrick Bours developed an AI capable of detecting warning signs of cyber grooming within just ten lines of text. The goal was simple to understand, but difficult to achieve: to raise the alarm early enough for people to intervene.

Hege Tokerud and Gard Støe founded Aiba in 2022 to bring this research into practical use on digital platforms. What began as a research project became a product built for live platforms. Over time, the technology has evolved to address a broader range of digital threats.

“Protecting children online remains at the heart of our mission. In recent years, we have broadened our work to address a wider range of age groups and digital threats, including bullying, radicalisation and fraud,” says Tokerud.

Aiba’s flagship product is Amanda, a moderation platform that analyses user behaviour and platform content in real time to identify and stop harmful activity before it escalates. The platform automates routine moderation tasks, while flagging serious incidents that require human judgement. It also provides valuable insights into how user behaviour and activity are evolving across a platform’s community.

Rather than analysing messages in isolation, Aiba’s technology looks for behavioural patterns over time. It can identify harmful activity at an individual level, while models can be run locally and deliver responses in under 50 milliseconds. This gives customers security, speed and control over their own data, which is particularly important for companies subject to regulations such as the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).

“Aiba’s technology is built on more than 10 years of behavioural research at NTNU, hands-on experience from online community moderation and insights from real cases in cooperation with the police. Together, we create safer digital spaces for users around the world,” says Tokerud.

Aiba’s technology continues to evolve to meet increasingly complex digital threats. Today, the company’s customers are primarily gaming companies and online communities, with particular focus on Trust and Safety teams in organisations with between 50 000 and 2 million monthly active users.

These organisations share a common challenge: protecting users by detecting and addressing harmful behaviour, including bullying, grooming and harassment, while meeting increasingly stringent regulatory requirements such as the DSA.

Norwegian origin can be a strong differentiator in an increasingly competitive global market. The Made in Norway label highlights Aiba’s roots in Norwegian research, technological expertise and values-based approach to developing AI solutions.

“A safer internet for children is not just a vision, it is a responsibility. That is the foundation of everything we do at Aiba. With technology built on years of Norwegian research, we help digital platforms detect and stop harmful behaviour before it causes harm. From Gjøvik, we contribute to safer digital communities for millions of users around the world. It demonstrates what Norwegian research and technology can achieve when combined with a clear societal mission,” concludes Tokerud.