Signals raises $1.1m seed funding with backing from ACS Publications and Enago
Research integrity technology provider Signals has raised $1.1 million in seed funding in a round backed by minority investments from ACS Publications, a division of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and Enago, alongside the Scholarly Angels and other angel investors.
According to the company, the funding will support further development of its research evaluation and integrity technology as publishers face increasing concerns around research quality, trust, and the growing influence of AI.
The Signals team said the investment reflects a broader industry push toward more transparent and dynamic approaches to evaluating scholarly research.
“This investment is more than financial. It reflects a shared vision to deliver deep evaluations of all research so it can be trusted, understood, and used to push the boundaries of our knowledge,” the company said in a statement. “As the volume of research increases and concerns around quality, trust, and AI grow, the need for comprehensive, dynamic, and transparent evaluation is urgent. With the backing of industry leaders, Signals is setting the new standard for how the world evaluates and trusts research.”
Signals said the new capital will be used to accelerate development of its research integrity products, expand its technology platform, and further develop its AI capabilities. The company also plans to extend its Signals Data Graph, a network designed to connect and analyse global research data to support editorial decision-making and help organisations identify high-quality research.
The company said the funding would focus on three main areas: strengthening its core research integrity products for publishers; scaling its technology and proprietary data to meet demand; and expanding the use of its data graph to support institutions, corporates and researchers in identifying reliable research.
As part of the investment, Sarah Tegen, senior vice president and chief publishing officer at ACS Publications, will join the Signals board as an observer. The publisher said its staff will also contribute feedback and expertise to support development of the company’s research integrity tools.
She said: “Protecting the integrity of the scholarly record through better tools is core to the mission of ACS. By investing in Signals, we aim to accelerate uptake of these capabilities while supporting a solution that benefits the entire scholarly community. ACS is excited to help take Signals to the next level.”
Signals also announced a reciprocal partnership with Enago aimed at combining the company’s technology with Enago’s editorial and research support services.
Abhigyan Arun, CEO of Enago, said; “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to helping publishers navigate growing challenges around research quality and trust. Signals and Enago are coming together to combine technology and human expertise into a stronger, more connected ecosystem for evaluating and supporting high-quality research for the global publishing community.”
Signals said a key principle of the investment is that the company will remain independent and publisher-neutral, with the partnerships intended to create a more integrated research integrity offering in a market that the company says is currently crowded with single-point solutions.