Karine Mellata: AI agents are revolutionizing risk and compliance, automating fraud detection for platforms like GoFundMe, and enhancing identity verification in the gig economy | Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Variance's AI agents revolutionize fraud detection and compliance, securing platforms like GoFundMe during crises.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Apr. 10, 2026

Key takeaways

• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance operates in secrecy due to the sensitive nature of data it handles, impacting its marketing strategies.
• GoFundMe utilizes Variance’s AI agents to verify fundraisers and ensure compliance, especially during crises.
• A spike in fraudulent fundraisers often follows major events or crises, highlighting the need for robust fraud detection.
• AI agents automate the validation of fundraising requests, shifting from human to automated processes for efficiency.
• Variance’s technology is broadly applicable in identity verification across gig economy and marketplace platforms.
• AI agents streamline complex KYC and KYB processes using compliance documents and data sources.
• Access to the open web is crucial for automating compliance processes, enhancing AI effectiveness.
• Data verification for fundraisers involves integrating scattered information from multiple systems.
• Fraud detection systems must evolve rapidly with tight feedback loops to address dynamic threats.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.
• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.

Guest intro

Karine Mellata is co-founder of Variance (W23), a company building AI agents for risk and compliance that automate fraud detection, content review, and identity verification for Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe. She previously worked on Apple’s fraud engineering and algorithmic risk team, addressing online abuse including spam, botting, account security, and developer fraud. Variance recently emerged from three years in stealth, announcing a $21 million Series A while detecting state-sponsored fraud rings.

The role of AI in risk and compliance

• Variance builds AI agents specifically designed for risk and compliance, automating sensitive reviews at scale.

• Variance is building purpose-built AI agents for risk and compliance we automate content review fraud reviews identity reviews at scale

  — Karine Mellata

• Variance operates in secrecy due to the sensitive nature of the data and issues it handles.

• We’re building the systems that are often used by the bad guys but we’re building them for the good guys… it’s really hard to market the use cases that customers are using Variance for because those issues are so sensitive

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.
• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.

The impact of AI on fundraising platforms

• Verintz’s AI agents are used by GoFundMe to verify the legitimacy of fundraisers and ensure compliance with regulations.

• GoFundMe sort of has the responsibility to be able to detect this they’re using AI agents so Variance AI agents to conduct those investigations

  — Karine Mellata

• There is often a spike in fraudulent fundraisers on GoFundMe following major events or crises.

• GoFundMe is actually very crisis-driven so if there is any sort of large event or any sort of natural disaster there’s usually going to be a spike in fundraisers

  — Karine Mellata

• AI agents automate the validation of fundraising requests on platforms like GoFundMe.

• Every person who signs up to do a GoFundMe fundraiser they don’t realize it but actually their request is being validated by Variance’s software before it’s allowed to go live

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.

Identity verification in gig economy and marketplaces

• Variance AI agents are used for complex identity reviews across various platforms.

• We have been running complex identity reviews for marketplaces gig economy platforms… all of that data is then going to be reasoned on by our AI agents

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.
• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.
• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.

Automating KYC and KYB processes

• AI agents can automate complex KYC and KYB processes using compliance documents and data sources.

• There’s really only three building blocks that you need so you have the compliance documents the standard operating procedure… once we have those compliance documents then the AI agent can do its work using tools that we build and data internal or external

  — Karine Mellata

• Access to the open web is crucial for automating compliance processes.

• Access to the web was one of the final nodes that made this whole problem really hard to automate

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.
• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.

The importance of web data in compliance automation

• Access to the open web is crucial for automating compliance processes.

• Access to the web was one of the final nodes that made this whole problem really hard to automate

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.
• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.
• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.

Data integration challenges in verification processes

• Data verification for fundraisers requires integrating scattered information from multiple systems.

• Usually the data is going to be scattered around the user identity data… that data is going to be scattered across five to 10 different systems

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.
• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.
• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.

The need for adaptive fraud detection systems

• A fraud detection system must evolve rapidly and have a tight feedback loop to effectively respond to dynamic threats.

• The most important feature of a fraud system is that it needs to evolve really rapidly and you need to have a really tight feedback feedback loop

  — Karine Mellata

• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.
• AI agents are transforming risk and compliance sectors by automating sensitive reviews at scale.
• Variance’s AI agents are purpose-built for risk and compliance, automating fraud detection and identity reviews.
• The integration of AI in online platforms enhances efficiency and consistency in fraud prevention.
• Variance’s technology supports Fortune 500 companies and platforms like GoFundMe in combating fraud and enhancing security.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.