Pangram’s Max Spero on why AI detection is harder than ‘Real or Fake’
The internet has a trust problem, andit’snot just because social media feeds are filling up with AIslop. AI-generated text and images are now making their way into job applications, product reviews,and even insurance claims, leaving platforms and users alike scrambling to figure outwhat’sreal. A handful of startups have cropped up in the past couple of []
Pangrams Max Spero on why AI detection is harder than Real or Fake | TechCrunch
Pangrams Max Spero on why AI detection is harder than Real or Fake
10:18 AM PDT · September 2, 2026
The internet has a trust problem, and it’s not just because social media feeds are filling up with AI slop. AI-generated text and images are now making their way into job applications, product reviews, and even insurance claims, leaving platforms and users alike scrambling to figure out what’s real.
A handful of startups have cropped up in the past couple of years to become the “trust layer” the internet needs — including Pangram. The startup recently snapped up $9 million for its AI detection system and landed a partnership with Substack, which is now using Pangram’s tech to show readers which of their favorite authors use AI to write their newsletters. Pangram also recently dropped a new AI image detection tool.
Watch as Pangram co-founder and CEO Max Spero joins TechCrunchs Equity podcast to dig into the promise of AI detection tools and where to draw the line between AI assisted and AI generated.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
AI, AI detection, Equity Video, Startups, Substack
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the networks flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing theresa.loconsolo@techcrunch.com.
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