Ex-Tesla Manager Fights Fakes With Luxury Goods Chip
▼ Summary
– The counterfeit goods crisis costs luxury brands over $30 billion annually and undermines trust in the $210 billion second-hand market due to unreliable authentication.
– Veritas has developed a small, “hack-proof” NFC chip and software solution that uses digital certificates to verify product authenticity, which can be tapped with a smartphone.
– The chip is designed to be minimally invasive, can be inserted after manufacturing, and includes tamper-proof features that hide product codes if interference is detected.
– Founder Luci Holland, drawing on her tech and art backgrounds, created the solution because traditional physical authentication marks are now easily copied, making “superfakes” undetectable.
– Veritas raised $1.75 million in pre-seed funding to expand its team and educate the market on the need for robust tech solutions against counterfeiting.
The global market for counterfeit luxury goods inflicts staggering losses, with brands forfeiting over $30 billion annually to sophisticated fakes. Simultaneously, consumers in the vast $210 billion second-hand market struggle to verify authenticity with confidence. A new startup named Veritas is tackling this dual-sided crisis by merging custom hardware with secure software, offering a potential solution to an industry-wide problem.
Founded by Luci Holland, whose career bridges the worlds of technology and art, Veritas aims to provide the advanced protection legacy brands deserve. Holland, a former technical product manager at Tesla with experience in business development and product management, recognized the limitations of traditional authentication methods. Physical marks and certificates, once reliable, are now expertly replicated by counterfeiters producing high-quality “superfakes.” She even consulted with established luxury houses that had to halt authentication services because the fakes had become indistinguishable.
Her solution centers on a proprietary, “hack-proof” chip designed to be minimally invasive. Roughly the size of a small gem, it can be embedded into a finished product without compromising its design. The chip utilizes NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, allowing a consumer to simply tap their smartphone on the item to initiate verification. For security, the startup engineered a custom coil and a protective bridge structure; any tampering attempt causes the chip to go dormant and conceal its product codes.
On the software side, each scan is monitored for fraudulent behavior, and the product’s information is secured on Veritas’s backend. The company also creates a blockchain-based digital twin of each item, which could be used for digital exhibitions or metaverse integration. Brands using the platform gain a full software suite to manage their chipped inventory, add rich product narratives, and even engage their community through exclusive offers.
Holland emphasizes that many existing solutions, including standard NFC chips, are surprisingly vulnerable to tools like the widely available Flipper Zero. A key part of Veritas’s mission is educating the market about the need for more robust technology. The startup recently secured $1.75 million in pre-seed funding, led by Seven Seven Six with participation from DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang and other angel investors. The capital will support team growth.
Alexis Ohanian of Seven Seven Six highlighted Holland’s unique blend of design sensibility and technical expertise. He views the fight against counterfeiters as an ongoing arms race, one where luxury brands urgently need technological allies to help them win.
(Source: TechCrunch)
