Faception Pitch Deck (2014): 11-Slide Series A Deck

See all 11 slides of the Faception pitch deck — a 2014 Series A deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

Faception’s 11-slide deck from 2014 is a masterclass in high-impact, low-detail storytelling. By opening with the 2015 Paris attacks and claiming to have classified 9 out of 11 terrorists, the company immediately establishes a high-stakes value proposition for homeland security. The deck is light on technical architecture but heavy on validation, citing a $750,000 purchase order and a 93% accuracy rate in specific application tests. While it lacks traditional financial projections, a business model, or a competitive landscape, it relies on the 'world-class' credentials of its team—including a…

Key takeaways

The High-Stakes Narrative of Faception

Faception’s 2014 pitch deck is a provocative document that prioritizes emotional impact and high-level validation over technical granularities. Operating in the controversial space of facial personality profiling, the company uses its 11 slides to argue that character traits are encoded in facial geometry. The deck is structured to move from a shocking problem (terrorism) to a validated solution (purchase orders and accuracy rates) to a credible team. It is a lean deck that relies on the strength of its claims rather than the breadth of its data.

Slide 1: The Hook

The cover slide features a high-contrast, black-and-white image of Jack Nicholson as the Joker. The branding is clear: 'FACEPTION: Facial personality profiling.' By using a famous cinematic villain, the company immediately leans into the idea that faces reveal internal character. It is a bold, if slightly dark, aesthetic choice that sets the tone for a technology focused on unmasking hidden traits.

Slides 2-4: The Security Validation

Slide 2 introduces the 'Paris November 2015 Attacks,' showing the Eiffel Tower and photos of three terrorists from an 'HLS Database' marked as 'Dead.' This immediately grounds the technology in a real-world, high-stakes problem. Slide 3 follows up with the claim that Faception 'Classified 9 of the 11 terrorists.' This is the deck's most significant 'traction' claim, suggesting that their algorithm could have identified these individuals as 'Potential Terrorists' based on their facial features alone. Slide 4 provides the commercial counterpoint to this security claim: a massive, centered text block announcing a '$750K Purchase Order.' This slide serves to prove that government or enterprise entities are already willing to pay for this capability, effectively de-risking the investment for a Series-A participant.

Slides 5-7: The Underlying Logic

Slide 5 states the core thesis: 'Our face reflects our personality.' Slide 6 attempts to provide a scientific foundation, showing a DNA double-helix diagram and a face overlaid with a geometric mesh. The implication is that facial structure is a phenotypic expression of DNA, which in turn dictates personality. Slide 7 shows the output of the software. It displays three metrics—'HIGH IQ', 'EXTROVERT', and 'BRAND PROMOTER'—on a color-coded scale from -5 to 5. For the example shown, the subject is rated as a 2.5 for IQ, a -4 for Extroversion, and a 1 for Brand Promoter. This slide is crucial because it shows the product's UI and the specific, actionable data points it generates.

Slides 8-9: Product and Field Testing

Slide 8 shows a screenshot of the Faception interface, titled 'Reveal Personality from Facial Images.' The 'Wow Me!' button suggests a demo-heavy sales process. The tabs at the top of the interface reveal the breadth of their classifiers: Researchers, Pro Poker Players, MMA Fighters, White-Collar Offenders, HLS, Terrorist, Demographic, and Features Analysis. This slide demonstrates that the technology is a platform, not just a single-use tool. Slide 9, titled 'Field Tested & Approved,' provides two specific data points: a '93% Accuracy (25/27)' in a '500 Application Test' and a claim that they 'Predicted 2 out of 3 winners' in a '500 Poker Tournament.' These small-sample-size successes are used to extrapolate the reliability of the machine learning model.

Slide 10: The Team

The team slide is exceptionally strong for a Series-A startup. It lists six key figures, each with a specific 'archetype' label: Entrepreneur, Innovator, Communicator, High IQ, Technologist, and Researcher. CEO Shai Gilboa is credited with 6 startups and 2 exits. CTO Itzik Wilf, Ph.D., brings 32 years of experience in computer vision and machine learning. Most notably, the inclusion of Dr. Michal Kosinski, a Stanford Professor and 'psychology and organizational behavior expert,' provides the necessary academic veneer to a technology that might otherwise be dismissed as physiognomy.

Slide 11: The Vision

The final slide shows a blurred crowd of people with digital bounding boxes around their heads, similar to facial recognition software. The Faception logo and an AngelList URL are the only text. This slide reinforces the 'real-time' and 'mass-scale' nature of the technology, suggesting a future where every person in a crowd can be instantly profiled for risk or potential.

What Works in the Faception Deck

Immediate Stakes: By leading with the Paris attacks, Faception bypasses the 'why does this matter?' question. They position their tool as a matter of national security, which justifies the controversial nature of the technology. Clear Commercial Traction: The $750k purchase order on slide 4 is the strongest slide in the deck. It proves market fit and willingness to pay before the investor even sees the team or the tech. Team Credibility: The founders understood that 'facial profiling' would be met with skepticism. By highlighting a CTO with three decades of experience and a Stanford professor, they address the 'is this real?' objection head-on.

What is Missing from the Faception Deck

The Business Model: There is no mention of how Faception makes money. Is it a per-scan fee? A SaaS license? A hardware-software bundle for HLS? The lack of a business model slide is a significant omission for a Series-A deck. Competitive Landscape: The deck operates as if Faception has no competitors. In 2014, facial recognition was already a crowded field. Failing to differentiate from standard biometric companies is a missed opportunity. The Ask: The most glaring omission is the lack of a funding request. The deck ends without stating how much money is being raised, the valuation, or the milestones the new capital will fund. Financial Projections: There are no charts showing projected revenue growth, burn rate, or headcount expansion.

What a Founder Should Copy

The 'Traction First' Approach: If you have a significant purchase order or a high-profile pilot, put it on its own slide early in the deck. It changes the way investors view every subsequent slide. Archetype Labeling: Labeling team members by their role (e.g., 'The Innovator', 'The Technologist') helps investors quickly categorize the talent and see where the gaps are—or aren't. Visual Proof of Concept: Slide 7, which shows the actual scores for IQ and Extroversion, is excellent. It turns an abstract concept (personality profiling) into a concrete data product. Founders should always show the 'output' of their technology as clearly as possible.

Conclusion

Faception’s deck is a high-conviction document that relies on the 'wow factor' of its technology and the pedigree of its team. While it ignores many of the standard requirements of a pitch deck—like financials and a clear ask—it succeeds in creating a compelling narrative of a breakthrough technology with immediate, high-value applications. For a company raising $625,000 in 2014, this deck was likely a conversation starter designed to lead to a live demo, where the 'Wow Me!' functionality could do the heavy lifting of the sale.

Frequently asked questions

What is the primary value proposition of Faception?
Faception proposes that facial features are a direct reflection of personality and DNA. According to slides 5 and 6, their technology uses computer vision to analyze these features and reveal traits in real-time. The primary use case demonstrated in the deck is security and public safety, specifically identifying 'potential terrorists' or individuals with specific behavioral tendencies before they act.
How does the company validate its technology's accuracy?
Validation is presented through two main lenses: historical back-testing and live field tests. Slide 3 claims the software correctly classified 9 out of 11 terrorists involved in the Paris attacks. Slide 9 cites a '500 Application Test' with 93% accuracy and a poker tournament where it successfully predicted 2 out of 3 winners based on facial profiling.
Who are the key members of the Faception team?
The team, detailed on slide 10, includes CEO Shai Gilboa (6 startups, 2 exits), CTO Itzik Wilf (32 years in computer vision), and Chief Profiler David Gavriel (30 years in non-verbal communication). It also features Dr. Michal Kosinski, a Stanford Professor and expert in psychology and organizational behavior, providing academic weight to the profiling claims.
What market sectors is Faception targeting?
While the deck leans heavily on Homeland Security (HLS) and public safety, slide 8 suggests a broader range of applications. The interface shown includes tabs for 'Pro Poker Players', 'MMA Fighters', 'White-Collar Offenders', and 'Brand Promoters'. This indicates a target market spanning security, professional sports, recruitment, and marketing analytics.
What critical information is missing from this pitch deck?
The deck is missing several standard Series-A components. There is no slide detailing the business model (how they charge), no competitive analysis, and no financial projections. Most notably, there is no 'Ask' slide specifying how much capital they are raising or how the funds will be allocated, which is unusual for a fundraising document.
Cover slide of the Faception pitch deck — Series-A 2014
Faception pitch deck, slide 1 (2014)

Faception pitch deck: the facts

Company
Faception
Year
2014
Stage
Series-A
Slides
11

Faception pitch deck PDF

The full Faception deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the Faception pitch deck was used for

This deck is a **2014 Series-A pitch** by Faception, an Israeli startup developing facial personality analytics using computer vision and machine learning to infer traits and behavioral tendencies from facial images. The deck positions the technology primarily for high-stakes **security and public safety** scenarios, including identifying potential terrorists and other high-risk profiles, with secondary commercial applications in customer intelligence. It highlights validation claims such as correctly classifying 9 of 11 Paris attackers, a 500-application test with 93% accuracy, and a poker-tournament prediction, alongside a prominently featured **$750,000 purchase order** as proof of market demand. The round is presented as a Series A targeting institutional investors following earlier seed and accelerator funding, though external funding databases show the official Series A being recorded around mid-2016, indicating this deck may have been used in an earlier push toward that milestone.

Business model: Developer of a **facial personality analytics** platform that uses computer vision and machine learning on facial images to infer personality traits and behavioral tendencies, sold as predictive screening and customer intelligence tools to security, public safety, smart cities, and commercial clients.

Investors
Early investor names appearing in startup profiles and platforms include 500 Startups (500 Global), FoundersX Ventures,
Headquarters
Tel Aviv, Israel

Round: Series A (as labeled in the deck and pitch-deck collections, though external databases record the official Series A in mid-2016).

Year: 2014 (deck year as reported by pitch-deck libraries and the original source page, not by funding databases).

Raised: Pitch-deck libraries and the original source page consistently state that this 2014 Series-A deck was associated with a **$625,000 raise**, but no independent transaction record confirming a 2014 Series-A close for that exact amount is available in major funding databases.

Industry: AI, computer vision, facial recognition / facial personality analytics for security and marketing.

Total funding: Externally reported totals conflict: PitchBook reports $5.62M raised across seed, accelerator, Series A and later-stage VC rounds through 2022, while Tracxn reports $125K total over three rounds with an undisclosed Series A in June 2016. SnapMunk reports $125K seed prior to 500 Startups Demo Day in 2016.

What happened after the Faception deck

The 2014 Series-A deck is reported in pitch-deck libraries as having supported a raise of about $625,000 on the back of a $750,000 purchase order, but public funding databases instead document a sequence of seed, accelerator, and Series-A rounds concentrated around 2015–2016, with a later $5M round in 2022; the company remains a private Israeli startup active in facial personality analytics for se

What the Faception deck got right

What could have been stronger

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Risks that stand out

Questions this deck invites

What founders can take from the Faception deck

Faception pitch deck: common questions

What does Faception do, according to the pitch deck and external sources?

Faception develops **facial personality analytics** software that uses computer vision and machine learning on facial images to infer personality traits and behavioral tendencies (e.g., security risk, customer potential) without requiring personal identification. The 2014 Series-A pitch deck frames this as a predictive screening tool for security and public safety, as well as for commercial customer intelligence.

Did Faception actually raise a Series-A round around 2014?

External funding trackers show Faception running a **seed and accelerator sequence in 2015–2016**, followed by a **Series A in mid-2016** and later-stage VC funding in 2022. The pitch deck library entries and teardown describe a **2014 Series-A deck that reportedly raised about $625,000**, supported by a highlighted $750,000 purchase order as traction, but public databases do not list a clearly labeled 2014 Series-A close.

What traction and validation does the Faception Series-A deck claim, and how much of it is externally verified?

The deck emphasizes a **$750,000 purchase order** from a government or enterprise customer as core traction, plus validation metrics like correctly profiling 9 of 11 terrorists in the Paris attacks, a 500-application test with 93% accuracy, and predicting 2 of 3 poker tournament winners. External sources independently confirm Faception’s participation in 500 Startups, prior seed funding of $125K, and positioning in security and marketing analytics, but they do not directly corroborate the specific purchase order or the deck’s experimental statistics.

How does Faception’s technology work and what applications are highlighted?

According to the company site and press coverage, Faception’s technology encodes facial attributes (ratios and key-point geometry) and uses machine learning models to predict personality traits and behavioral categories such as security risk profiles or marketing-relevant personas. The deck itself is reported to show applications in **homeland security, public safety, smart cities, and customer analytics**, but is light on detailed technical architecture or model design.

Is the $625,000 amount attributed to this deck a confirmed funding transaction?

The deck collection sources state that the **2014 Series-A deck is 11 slides and associated with a $625,000 raise**, with external pitch-deck libraries and teardowns repeating this figure. However, major funding databases list seed, accelerator, and Series-A rounds from late 2015 through mid-2016, and none independently verify a discrete $625,000 Series-A close in 2014, so the $625,000 figure should be treated as **deck-library metadata rather than a confirmed transaction record**.

Sources

Funding and outcome facts on this page were researched on 2026-08-21 from the pages below.

Faception pitch deck slides

Faception pitch deck slide 1 of 11
Faception pitch deck — slide 1 of 11
Faception pitch deck slide 2 of 11
Faception pitch deck — slide 2 of 11
Faception pitch deck slide 3 of 11
Faception pitch deck — slide 3 of 11
Faception pitch deck slide 4 of 11
Faception pitch deck — slide 4 of 11
Faception pitch deck slide 5 of 11
Faception pitch deck — slide 5 of 11
Faception pitch deck slide 6 of 11
Faception pitch deck — slide 6 of 11

What each slide of the Faception pitch deck says

Slide 6

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Slide text above is read directly from the Faception deck PDF embedded on this page.

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