Veritas expands its anti-counterfeit chip to jewelry and bottles

In short: Veritas says its latest embedded chip can help verify luxury items like jewelry, trophies, and fragrance bottles.

What happened

Veritas, a startup focused on fighting counterfeit luxury goods, has introduced a second version of its verification chip. The company says the new chip works better on metal surfaces and can be scanned through glass, which makes it usable in more types of products.

Veritas was founded by Luci Holland, a former Tesla technical product manager. The chip is designed to be inserted into items without damaging them. A brand can then confirm whether an item is real, and an owner can show a certificate of ownership in Veritas’ app.

Holland told TechCrunch that some common methods are easier to copy, such as QR codes or fixed NFC links. NFC is a short-range tap-to-connect feature used in many phones, like tapping to pay. Veritas says its chip gives a new secure response each time you tap it, and it includes a tamper-detection wire (a built-in “seal” that can show if someone tried to mess with it).

This week, Veritas also announced a partnership with ATHLOS, a women’s track-and-field competition founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Veritas says all 18 championship crowns will include its chips so they can be verified.

Why it matters

Luxury fakes are getting more convincing, including so-called “superfakes.” Tools that tie a digital record to the physical item can make it harder to resell copies as originals, and easier for buyers to check what they are getting.

Source: TechCrunch AI