Veritas expands its anti-counterfeit chip to jewelry, trophies, and fragrance bottles
Counterfeiters are getting better at replicating brands' marks and passing off dupes, known as "superfakes," as genuine items. A startup called Veritas wants to tackle the problem with its own chip that verifies goods.
Luxury goods companies face a growing problem with counterfeit items that are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from genuine products. To address this issue, a startup called Veritas has developed a chip designed to verify the authenticity of various products, from clothing to fragrances. Founded by Luci Holland, a former Tesla technical product manager with design and art expertise, Veritas' chip can be easily integrated into goods without causing damage.
This chip enables brands to confirm the authenticity of their products and allows customers to access a certificate of ownership through the company's app.
Holland highlighted that other authentication methods, such as digital records, are more susceptible to replication through copied QR codes or static NFC links. Veritas' approach, on the other hand, involves secure, authenticated chip responses that are directly embedded in the product itself. Each tap generates a unique response, and the chip includes a tamper-detection wire. The connection between the object and its digital identity is woven into the proof, making it more resilient against counterfeiting attempts.
The startup has recently released the second version of its chip, which is compatible with metal surfaces and can be scanned through glass. This next-generation chip is now ready for production and supports a wider range of applications, including jewelry, trophies, hard-surface products, and glass objects like fragrance bottles. These expanded capabilities enable brands to incorporate authentication directly into their products, thus enhancing their security measures.
Veritas has recently announced a partnership with ATHLOS, a women's track-and-field competition founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and backed by Veritas. As part of this collaboration, all 18 championship crowns will feature Veritas' chips, ensuring their authenticity can be verified. Additionally, Veritas embedded a chip into a pair of LeBron James' first Nike shoes, which were redesigned by artist Adam Port. By tapping a phone to the shoe, users can access its history and story.
So far, Veritas has secured $1.75 million in pre-seed funding led by Ohanian's venture firm Seven Seven Six, with contributions from DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang, skincare brand Reys co-founder Gloria Zhu, and former TechCrunch editor Josh Constine. Since its February fundraising round, the company has shipped an iOS app for consumers and a brand portal that enables companies to manage product records and create owner experiences such as clubs, event check-ins, and early access to product drops.
Veritas participated in this year's TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield, which took place over three days, with a winner announced on the final day.
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