TrollWall AI, a Slovak startup that uses AI to hide toxic comments on social media, is acquiring Elv.ai, a smaller domestic competitor that moderated online discussions for media outlets and public institutions. The deal was announced on October 29, 2026, in a post on TrollWall AI's website and by Elv.ai co-founder Gabriel Tóth on Facebook.
The companies did not disclose the price or any other financial terms. Neither side said how many people work at Elv.ai or whether any of them will join TrollWall AI.
Elv.ai's clients among media and public institutions in Slovakia and the Czech Republic are switching to the TrollWall AI platform. Slovak news site Bratislavský večerník reported that it was not yet clear whether the Elv.ai brand would survive or whether its technology would be folded into TrollWall AI's product over time.
What Elv.ai built
Elv.ai started in 2022 as Elfovia.sk, a non-profit project run by the communications agency New School Communications. It was set up after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when Slovak social media filled with hate speech, hoaxes and disinformation. At first, volunteer moderators nicknamed "elves" cleaned up the comment sections of news outlets and institutions by hand.
From December 2022 the volunteers worked alongside artificial intelligence in a hybrid model, with software flagging problem comments and people reviewing them. As demand grew, the project was spun out of the agency in 2023 as a separate company. Its co-founders were Gabriel Tóth and Ľudovít Ďurman of New School Communications, Jakub Šuster, who became chief executive, and Milan Dubec.
The startup protected media and institutional profiles against hate, hoaxes, disinformation and fake accounts. By its own count it looked after hundreds of social media profiles and reviewed more than 80 million comments. In early 2024, Silicon Canals reported that its Slovak clients included broadcasters Markíza and JOJ, the Expres and Evropa 2 radio stations, the Refresher media group and the Slovak social media accounts of the European Commission, while Tech.eu named Prima TV and the publisher Economia as Czech customers.
“The acquisition of Elv.ai is part of our strategy to expand and consolidate the market. Elv.ai has built a strong name in Slovakia, and we value that its clients are moving over to us.”
The buyer
TrollWall AI was also founded in 2022, by Tomáš Halász, Filip Strýčko, Tomáš Koctúr and Pavol Bujňák. The company says the idea came from Halász's own work as community manager for a vice-president of the European Parliament, when he had to remove thousands of toxic comments by hand each day after the invasion of Ukraine.
Its software hides toxic comments on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube around the clock in 20 languages. It also analyses the content and sentiment of comments, helps social media teams draft replies and filters spam. Through a tool it calls TrollWall AI MCP, clients can run moderation from inside AI assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT.
TrollWall AI says it is used in 17 countries. Its named clients include the International Ice Hockey Federation, football club AC Sparta Praha, publisher Ringier, broadcaster RTL Hrvatska, telecoms operator O2 and the Czech Police, as well as several heads of state and political parties.
Why TrollWall AI is buying
Halász, who is co-founder and chief executive, described the purchase as part of a plan to expand and consolidate the market. He said Elv.ai had built a strong name in Slovakia and that its customers would gain access to TrollWall AI's moderation technology and its tools for analysing comments and writing replies.
He also said the company wants to become the global leader in comment moderation and is expanding in Europe and the United States, with the Elv.ai deal one step on that path. Bratislavský večerník quoted Halász as saying that the two companies had started building similar technology about four years ago.
For Tóth, who is also chief executive of New School Communications, the sale continues a project the agency started in response to the war. In the announcement he said he was pleased that TrollWall AI would carry the mission forward. In his Facebook post he thanked Ďurman, Šuster, Dubec, the CB ESPRI Impact One fund and the moderation team.
The funding behind both companies
Elv.ai raised €500,000 (about $545,000) from CB ESPRI Impact One, a Slovak impact investment fund, in January 2024. The fund's chief executive, Miroslav Beblavý, said at the time that it saw social value in cleaning up online spaces. No later rounds were reported.
TrollWall AI raised €800,000 (about $930,000) in April 2026, six months before the deal. That round came from Slovenská sporiteľňa's Seed Starter programme, Slovak Investment Holding and angel investor Miroslav Fedor, and was earmarked for product development and expansion abroad. TrollWall AI also lists CB ESPRI Impact One among its investors, meaning the fund had backed both companies.
