Veritas has introduced a second authentication chip that supports metal surfaces and scanning through glass. Founder Luci Holland shared the update with TechCrunch by email.
“The next-generation chip is ready for production and supports a broader range of applications, including jewelry, trophies, hard-surface products, and glass objects such as fragrance bottles,” Holland said. “Alongside our garment integrations, this gives brands more ways to incorporate authentication directly into their products.”
All 18 ATHLOS championship crowns will receive authentication chips under a partnership Veritas announced this week, making the crowns verifiable. ATHLOS is a women’s track-and-field competition established by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is also a Veritas investor.
Fashion houses face a major challenge from counterfeit luxury products. As counterfeiters improve their copies of brand marks, they can pass duplicates called “superfakes” off as genuine merchandise. Veritas makes a chip that lets brands verify whether a product is genuine.
Before starting Veritas, Holland was a technical product manager at Tesla, and her background also includes art and design. She argues that other authentication systems are easier to defeat: copying a QR code or a static NFC link allows someone to reproduce the associated digital record.
“Our approach combines secure, authenticated chip responses with integration into the product itself. Our chip generates a secure response with each tap and includes a tamper-detection wire. We make the connection between the object and its digital identity part of the proof,” Holland said.
According to Veritas, its chip slips into products without damaging them. Brands can use it to check whether an item is authentic, and customers can show an ownership certificate in the company’s app.
Veritas has also fitted a chip into a pair of LeBron James’ first Nike shoes that artist Adam Port reimagined. Tapping a phone against the shoe brings up its history and story.
Since raising funds in February, Veritas has launched an iOS app for consumers along with a brand portal. The portal lets companies manage product records and build experiences for owners. With the app, brands can offer clubs, event check-ins and early access to product drops for selected groups.
Veritas’s $1.75 million pre-seed funding round was led by Seven Seven Six, Ohanian’s venture firm. The round also included DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang; skincare brand Reys co-founder Gloria Zhu; and former TechCrunch editor Josh Constine.
This year’s TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield included Veritas among its competitors. Held Tuesday through Thursday, the competition concluded with a winner announcement on Thursday afternoon.
