Helmit is an AI-powered software that protects children on social media from digital dangers such as cyberbullying, grooming and harmful content, without compromising their privacy.
The software runs entirely locally on the parents' device and analyzes social media chats using multimodal on-device AI to identify dangers in text, images, audio, and video. Parents are alerted in real time (only) in cases of imminent danger.
Helmit thus enables digital protection without parents having to read chats or resort to restrictive bans, and actively promotes dialogue and media literacy within the family.
Helmit was founded by EWOR Fellows Alexander Wolters and Leonardo Benini, two childhood friends driven by a shared vision of better protecting children in the digital world. Alexander studied electrical and information engineering at the Technical University of Munich, the National University of Singapore, and ETH Zurich. He possesses in-depth expertise in machine learning, has researched novel AI algorithms, and has published at leading AI conferences. His professional experience ranges from AI development at BMW to strategy consulting at the Boston Consulting Group. Leonardo studied mathematics at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Toronto and has been programming since the age of 14. He brings valuable experience from his work at Allianz and GTC Consulting, where he successfully led development teams and launched highly scalable products. He has also built social media channels with over 80,000 followers, giving him experience in digital marketing. 
