Entrupy Secures $2.6 Million Series A Funding for AI-driven Luxury Product Authentication Technology
Digital Garage's DG Lab Fund I leads round supporting machine learning as key to combatting counterfeit goods
NEW YORK, July 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Entrupy, a hardware-enabled SaaS company with artificial intelligence-based technology for authenticating high-end luxury goods, announced that they have secured $2.6 million in series A funding. The investment, led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership (also known as DG Lab Fund), along with "Super Angel" Zach Coelius, will accelerate further development of Entrupy's technology while enabling the company to increase product coverage, improve hardware and expand strategic partnerships worldwide.
Led by a team of technologists and academics, Entrupy is increasing global awareness of the growing business of counterfeit physical products and building scalable, affordable solutions for its prevention. Using a deep learning-driven database with millions of microscopic images, Entrupy is able to verify authenticity with a constantly-improving level of accuracy. Currently, it is the only technology-driven solution of its type, offering resellers and marketplaces a faster and more reliable route to trusted transactions than the manual and subjective processes that remain industry standards.
"Online commerce is growing leaps everyday globally and trust is going to be a hot-button issue, especially when there is less interpersonal interaction. Entrupy's technology offers a viable, scalable method of combatting the scourge of counterfeit goods and building this trust," stated Masahito Okuma, Partner at DG Lab Fund.
"We are excited about the opportunity this funding gives us to accelerate the development and expansion of our solutions, increasing our ability to reach across product categories and geographies," said Vidyuth Srinivasan, CEO and co-founder of Entrupy. "We look forward to bringing to bear a future where trust is the norm in secondary-market transactions and no consumer gets duped or worse by a fake product."
Launched in 2016, Entrupy's patented technology is currently used by hundreds of secondary retailers and marketplaces to authenticate handbags and wallets from brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès. To date, Entrupy has authenticated $14 million worth of goods. The company guarantees the veracity of its findings with the Entrupy Certificate of Authenticity, backed by a financial guarantee.
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About Entrupy
Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company that uses computer vision algorithms and microscopy to bring trust to transactions of high-value physical goods. Currently in use by hundreds of secondary resellers and marketplaces worldwide, Entrupy provides the only scalable technology capable of authenticating luxury products from brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès, among others. The service launched in 2016, following four years of research led by Ashlesh Sharma, Vidyuth Srinivasan and Lakshminarayanan Subramanian, Professor at New York University. Investors include DG Lab Fund, deep learning pioneer and Facebook AI Research (FAIR) director, Yann LeCun, serial entrepreneur and investor Zach Coelius, cloud computing pioneer and Google VP of Infrastructure Eric Brewer, and Japanese venture capital firm, Accord Ventures. The company is privately held and based in New York City. For more information, visit www.entrupy.com.
About DG Lab Fund I
DG Lab Fund I is an investment fund that is managed by DG Daiwa Ventures, Inc. as its General Partner. It was jointly established by Digital Garage, Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group, Inc. in 2016. The fund is directed towards startups that specialize in next generation technology. For more information, visit http://www.garage.co.jp/en/.
Press Contact
Tess VandenDolder
Clarity PR for Entrupy
413-695-7458
[email protected]
SOURCE Entrupy
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