News Coverage
While making headlines is not what our work is about, we do want to share some of the stories and and write-ups when they happen.
For media inquiries, please click here
Digital World? WEB3? Let’s Not Forget We Still Live in a Physical World.
How can optical-AI tech improve security and trust while linking the digital and physical worlds without harming physical asset integrity?
Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon®, a Bellevue, WA-based Optical AI company, shares more on how they are providing the missing link between the physical and digital worlds with solutions for the authentication, identification and traceability of parts and products. Alitheon’s FeaturePrint® solution creates for objects, what fingerprints are for people – a one of a kind, unique identifier that does not require you to modify or add anything. Using just a camera, FeaturePrinting enables authentication, identification, and traceability of individual items out of millions of similar objects.
FeaturePrint, the app that finds counterfeit products through the camera
FeaturePrint is the Alitheon app that, through artificial intelligence, is able to identify counterfeit products.
Counterfeiting, regardless of the type of product involved, is a phenomenon that is as common as it is dangerous. On the one hand there are the legitimate owners of a brand, who in addition to losing income see their brand linked to something of low value. On the other hand, there are consumers who (sometimes without their knowledge) find themselves in their hands products of poor quality, sometimes even dangerous.
Thanks to a smartphone app, however, identifying any cases of counterfeiting could now be much easier. The developers of Alitheon, in fact, have launched on the market FeaturePrint, an innovative AI-based software that, using the camera of mobile devices, is able to identify potential fakes.
Able to act on various types of product, FeaturePrint analyzes different characteristics of the object in question, looking for the peculiarities that lead back to the authenticity of the same.
All about the hustle: countdown to fast sneaks’ launch, the first-ever ai footwear company to give collectors one for the shelf and the street
Artificial intelligence (AI), while often an enigmatic buzzword, is undeniably revolutionizing industries worldwide. One striking example is FAST Sneaks, the pioneering footwear brand harnessing AI’s potential. Their trailblazing vision brings an unprecedented transformation to the sneaker industry, infusing cutting-edge technology with the art of shoemaking. Let’s delve into the story behind the first-ever AI-based footwear brand, a venture poised to change the game for art collectors and sneaker enthusiasts alike.
FAST SNEAKS to Launch AI-Authenticated, One-of-a-Kind Sneakers by Artist Brendan Murphy
Fast Sneaks, a ground-breaking new footwear company, is slated to launch an exclusive collection by renowned artist Brendan Murphy on June 7, 2023. This first-market mover is set to reveal a collection of one-of-ones, utilizing AI to provide the ultimate ‘rare pair,’ as well as authentication and provenance. Breaking through a crowded category with its technology-driven innovation, Fast Sneaks Project’s unparalleled customization revolutionizes bespoke luxury products, never been seen before.
How Artist Brendan Murphy Is Using [Alitheon's FeaturePrint] AI to Revolutionize the Sneaker Collecting Experience
FeaturePrint, according to Fast Sneaks, creates the equivalent of people’s fingerprints for items. Further explaining the technology, Fast Sneaks said FeaturePrint creates a unique identifier that does not require changes to the item, and not only enables quick and easy digitization of physical objects for irrefutable identification, authentication and tracing, it also eliminates misidentification and misuse of items.
Because of this, Fast Sneaks said the “unmatched credibility” should further boost a collector’s confidence, and could “profoundly change the playing field for billion-dollar markets” such as fine art, fashion and footwear.
Future Mobility: The Significant Yet Unrecognized Risk Of Fraudulent Parts
The recent semiconductor shortage, as well as the surge in electric transportation, has highlighted that modern vehicles are essentially computers and batteries on wheels. Estimates say vehicles today use over 1,000 microchips, and electric cars can have thousands of battery cells. And these are expected to increase as transportation technology evolves.
The future of mobility is autonomous and electric, from scooters, motorcycles and cars to, yes, even aircraft. In this new age of mobility, people are expected to entrust their lives to batteries and computer boards. It is critically important to ensure that these function as they’re designed, and safely. However, counterfeit and gray market parts pose a significant, often unrecognized risk that can cause detrimental consequences.
The Real and Present Danger of Fake and Gray Market Auto Parts
While automakers put OE safety systems through rigorous testing and quality controls, counterfeit and gray market parts don’t offer the same assurance and can present risks
By 2030, 95 percent of new vehicles sold will be connected vehicles, and a large portion of them will be electric using large numbers of battery cells. Connectivity and electrification offer several benefits such as the ability to improve traffic safety and reduce emissions, respectively, but it also raises concerns about their susceptibility to hacking. For example, earlier this year, a group of security researchers discovered vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 automakers, which allowed them to control car functions. Once alerted, the automakers were able to fix the bugs with patches. But this brings up another concern—what if the vehicles were set up for hacking to begin with or didn’t respond to patches because a critical component installed in the vehicle wasn’t authentic?
Is that Gucci Real or Fake? AI Will Tell You
FeaturePrint applies digital fingerprints to physical objects
Imagine spending more than $1,000 on a new handbag or a limited edition sports jersey, only to find out it is fake. One company from Bellevue, Washington has enlisted the help of AI to knock back the knockoffs.
Alitheon has created a platform to identify luxury goods, works of art and collectibles. FeaturePrint acts as a fingerprint, or unique identifier, that doesn’t require any modifications, marks or added elements to a physical object.
The tech works by taking a photograph which the program then accurately verifies an item as the labeled original using machine vision. The platform can act as an additional verification check for buyers or auction houses.
New app promises OEM part authentication for use of safe parts
A new app could help collision repairers and consumers identify “gray market” parts that could pose safety and liability risks to vehicle owners as an extra safety step before using them.
Gray market refers to parts that are OEM-authentic but failed quality assurance tests and shouldn’t have made it to market, or meet safety standards of one geographic region but not in others, such as those meant for India that ended up in the U.S. or vice versa.
Nik MIles, auto expert, talks with Alitheon CEO, Roei Ganzarski about the world of counterfeits and gray market in automotive.
A radio conversation about "she·nan·i·gans" in th auto world as host Nik Miles defines it.
Counterfeits and gray markets. What is the difference? What is included, and how big is this problem.
And what is Alitheon doing to solve it.
A conversation between Roei Ganzarski and Brandon Bartneck on the Future of Mobility blog.
Key topics as described by Brandon include:
- The most noteworthy performance I saw at CES
- Where additive approaches to authentication fall short
- Why proving identify is so important for safety-critical components and systems
- The danger of counterfeits in the mobility space
- The additive potential when combining Alitheon’s approach with digital authentication
Innovation at MWC is not only about demonstrations at large company stands, it is sometimes nestled in small stands at the country pavilions - this one is a finalist at the MWC competition!
Over the years, since 2007, I discovered hundreds of startups, incredible companies that for some had exemplary careers, like Shazam (which was like Alitheon at such a small stand), Waze, Bango, Metaio... They are often present in country pavilions. This is the case of the US-based startup created in 2017, Alitheon, which presents the only solution that can irrefutably authenticate a physical object with AI and verify its ownership with an NFT. They have over 45 approved patents! All the technology was developed in-house.
New Partnership Between Alitheon and SIMBA Chain Solidifies the Missing Provenance Link Between the Physical and Digital Worlds
"What does it mean for industry, when a company or consumer can irrefutably authenticate a product as well as its ownership and associated data?" said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon. "It means goodbye to having to deal with counterfeits, gray market activity, theft, fraud, misidentification, human error, and a whole host of other expensive and risky problems. Welcome to the new world."
LBMA implements [Alitheon's] optical AI technology to trace gold bars’ provenance
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) announced that it has added optical AI developer Alitheon to the pool of five companies that support the Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) initiative.
Alitheon is the only US-based company to be selected and its work will consist of identifying, authenticating, and tracing each individual bar, be it a small minted bar or a large investment-grade cast bar.
The American firm’s FeaturePrint technology will be put to use to ensure provenance by irrefutably identifying counterfeited and illegally-sourced precious metals throughout the supply chain.
London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Selects Alitheon to Bring Authentication and Traceability to Global Gold and Precious Metal Markets
Alitheon has been recognized by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the world's leading independent standards authority for the global precious metals industry, as one of only five companies to support LBMA's Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) initiative. As the precious metals markets face increasingly pervasive human rights, environmental, and economic threats, the aim of the GBI Initiative is to combat illicit trade and reduce the entrance of fraudulent bars into the global gold supply chain.
"Alitheon's FeaturePrint technology is easy to implement and even easier for our customers to authenticate our products," said Robin Kolvenbach, Co-CEO at Argor-Heraeus. "Because of this technology, there is no need to add anything else to our bars like stickers or markers."
The digital footprint for gold. Latest technologies improve the traceability of gold
The demand for gold from private investors has significantly increased since the corona crisis - at the same time, investors and private investors have a growing need for transparency across the value chain. Argor-Heraeus has been working for years to increase the traceability of gold. With a start-up cooperation, the company is now taking the next step within the traceability chain to further ensure transparency from the mine to the end consumer.
Alitheon is a U.S. company that specializes in authenticating physical products using artificial intelligence (AI). The company's so-called FeaturePrint technology is an optical software that creates a digital fingerprint for gold bars. The technology thus enables products to be authenticatable, identifiable, and traceable.
"Like many journalists, I'm a cynic by nature. Every so often, however, a new technology comes along that I get excited about. This week I'm going to introduce you to one such innovation." Felix Salmon
Mass production has always been in tension with unique objecthood. But modern technology from Alitheon, a startup in Bellevue, Washington, provenance and authentication can be applied to specific mass-produced objects — be they sneakers, pharmaceuticals, car parts, art prints, t-shirts, or even bars of gold. And it can all be done just by taking photos.
The big picture: Fakes can be deadly, when it comes to pharmaceuticals or precision-tooled components. They can also cost companies billions of dollars in foregone revenue and reputational damage. But — until now — identifying fakes has been laborious, expensive, error-prone, and time-consuming.
For a decade now, the Pharma Innovation Awards have highlighted industry-focused technologies and systems that not only help to solve pharma’s current woes but also push the boundaries on what is possible within pharma manufacturing.
Beyond the physical considerations of a drug product, drugmakers must also protect products from other threats, such as counterfeiting. Alitheon's FeaturePrint enables authentication, identification and traceability of individual items out of millions of similar objects; creating a one-of-a-kind, unique identifier that does not require marking.
Advanced machine vision technology provides immediate and irrefutable identification that can significantly reduce or virtually eliminate the risk of theft and fraud while providing an easy experience for users. Users can take a picture of the product — using a phone, an existing camera on the production line, or anything else — and the app's optical AI algorithms create a version of what fingerprints are to humans, but for each product. This information is readily available for traceability, identification and authentication review by drugmakers, distributors or even regulators.
Ultimately, the technology’s approach prevents counterfeit-related issues not by trying to detect counterfeits but instead by irrefutably identifying originals — a helpful step forward in today’s complex pharma supply chain.
Alitheon identified as 'Minicorn' by Tracxn
TracXN, the research partner for Venture Capitalists and Corporate Development offices powered by the largest Startup Data platform tracking over 10m companies globally, identified Alitheon as a minicorn, a company to watch out for as they take the business to the next level, by scaling up for the accelerated growth.
Stopping Counterfeits Requires A New Approach To Authentication
What do collectible sports cards and the medicine in your cabinet have in common? There’s a chance they are fake or not worth the price tag attached to them—at least that’s the reality as industries grapple with the estimated $2.3 trillion counterfeit market.
At Art Miami, Alitheon® and Artist Brendan Murphy Showcase Technology to Trace and Authenticate Art in the Physical World
World-renowned contemporary artist Brendan Murphy has teamed up with optical-AI-based technology company Alitheon to authenticate and trace original works of art and protect galleries, artists, auction houses, and collectors. At Art Miami, Alitheon's FeaturePrint® technology – which irrefutably identifies originals through a simple photograph – will be a staple in fortifying pieces like Murphy's, including his 517-carat diamond sculpture "Frozen with Desire" and his forthcoming sneaker art project with Fast Sneaks, HUSTLE.
Alitheon and aXedras tackle traceability and authenticity in precious metal market
Alitheon and aXedras tackle traceability and authenticity in precious metal market
BELLEVUE, WASH., and ZUG, SWITZERLAND, OCTOBER 18, 2022 – Alitheon, an optical AI technology company, signed a letter of intent with aXedras to link and integrate its FeaturePrint® technology into aXedras’ blockchain-backed Bullion Integrity Ledger™. The aXedras solution is the underlying data platform ensuring data and product integrity in the bullion market along the value chain of precious metals. The aXedras solution refers and connects to security feature technologies used by refiners to enable vaults and investors to verify the authenticity of their precious metals under custody. Connecting FeaturePrint® to the aXedras solution is a logical step to provide seamless authenticity verification processes for bars along the chain of custody: creating an additional layer of trust
“It’s imperative that businesses filter out illegally sourced gold and be able to trust provenance,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon. “Combining next-generation technology like Alitheon’s FeaturePrint and aXedras’ Bullion Integrity Ledger™ is setting a new standard for automated verification of gold bars along the value chain
“Connecting security feature providers like Alitheon to our Bullion Integrity Ledger™ provides a one-stop solution to market players along the value chain for product integrity including streamlined authenticity verification”, said Urs Röösli, CEO of aXedras.
Counterfeit and illegal bullion is a problem that continues to grow, with misled and uninformed dealers requesting greater track, trace, and authentication tools. Alitheon provides its patented FeaturePrint® technology, which creates for items what fingerprints are for people to bullion refiners as security feature for their bars.
Pharma Manufacturing announces the 2022 Pharma Innovation Award winners
The Pharma Innovation Awards are an annual celebration of new technologies and services that help advance product quality, risk reduction and manufacturing efficiency.
Alitheon is one of this year's Pharma Innovation Award winners!
Software set to solve multi-billion counterfeit problem
By creating a unique “fingerprint” of an item, AI-based software could offer a solution to fighting counterfeit goods, which cost the world’s economy hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
“The technology that the counterfeiters use is fantastic. It gets better and better every year as well,” Ganzarski said, adding: “it’s just like the virus and anti-virus problem in computers.”
BMW venture fund invests in Seattle-area startup combating counterfeits with authentication tech
Alitheon, a Seattle-area startup that uses images to create and manage unique identifiers for physical objects, raised $10 million. BMW’s venture capital arm, BMW i Ventures, co-led the Series A round with Imagine Ventures.
Founded in 2016, the company aims to help customers from industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical, collectibles, and luxury goods prevent counterfeits and misidentified parts. The idea is to replace stickers, barcodes, QR codes, and other tools that the company says are susceptible to fraud, damage, manipulation, and loss.
BMW i Ventures leads Series A investment in optical AI technology company Alitheon
BMW’s venture capital firm, BMW i Ventures, has announced its lead investment in a US$10m (£8.75m) Series A round for Alitheon, an optical AI technology company.
BMW i Ventures previously invested in the company’s seed round and is co-leading this round of investment alongside Imagine Ventures, a Seattle-based venture capital firm.
Bellevue startup Alitheon raises $10M with eye on headcount growth
Bellevue-based product authentication company Alitheon has raised a $10 million Series A round.
With the funding, announced Tuesday, Alitheon CEO Roei Ganzarski said the company plans to add about six to eight employees this year to its current 14-person team. He added that most of the employees are based in the Puget Sound region.
How Switzerland prevents business with Russian gold
The Swiss precious metals industry does not want to be accused of doing business with Russia or other dubious countries of origin. To prevent this, the industry uses high-tech methods.
Alitheon is key to this.
Alitheon’s optical AI combats counterfeiting
A startup company called Alitheon has come up with a way to solve this [countefeting] problem using optical artificial intelligence. Much like a fingerprint, which is very unique, the optical AI identifies physically inherent characteristics of goods. Because, even if they appear identical, they are not.
Interview with Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon
Manufacturing counterfeits is a thriving business with hundreds of products duplicated and sold across the sold as original ones. At the individual level, the consequences are grave, particularly when the products in question belong to the automobile industry or pharmaceuticals. Object identification technologies, to date, haven’t been able to contain the menace of counterfeits.
A Digital Fingerprint to Combat Counterfeit Goods
Alitheon’s optical artificial intelligence system can authenticate products by simply taking a picture.
Through the use of an optical artificial intelligence (AI) system, the [Alitheon] technology can identify counterfeit goods—right down to an individual tablet.
Want to Put a Stop to Counterfeit Goods? Take a Picture
Ganzarski believes the solution lies in something that, at first blush, might seem suspiciously low-tech: pictures.
Can something that simple really authenticate every object in the world? It can, says Ganzarski, if one thinks of a photo as a digital fingerprint — every bit as unique as a literal human fingerprint.
5 Q’s for Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon
The Center for Data Innovation spoke with Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon, a U.S.-based company focused on authenticating, identifying, and tracing physical items, parts, and products using just a digital photo. Ganzarski discussed the potential of using advanced optical AI to track and trace items in production lines and supply chains to stop counterfeits and other fakes.
Startup develops a way to know the identity of every part
A machine-vision startup has developed a digital fingerprinting technology that allows to track and authenticate parts across supply chains and distribution systems.
BMW-Backed Technology Fights Counterfeiting of Auto Parts
Alitheon's digital fingerprinting technology (FeaturePrint ID), which represents product surfaces as math formulas to enable on-demand verification of an authentic auto part via an industrial camera or a handheld app.
BMW Makes Big Investment to Fight Counterfeiting
Counterfeit automotive parts are big business. The U.S. Department of Commerce has estimated that the industry is now worth about $45 billion
Alitheon in First Shift: Finding Counterfeit Parts
Angelina Czarnecki features Alitheon in her First Shift news program and interviews CEO Roei Ganzarski. Goto time stamp 2:50
Former MagniX head named CEO of Bellevue startup Alitheon
Bellevue-based product authentication startup Alitheon has named Roei Ganzarski as the company's new CEO. "Alitheon’s disruptive technology is like nothing I have seen before and is truly cutting-edge," Ganzarski said in a news release. "It is the missing link between the physical and digital worlds. I’m extremely excited at the opportunity to lead this team and take the company forward."
Electric aviation pioneer Roei Ganzarski plots a new course as CEO at Alitheon digital ID venture
Roei Ganzarski is embarking on a totally different kind of tech adventure. He’s just been named president and CEO of Alitheon, a Bellevue, Wash.-based venture that focuses on digital fingerprinting for physical products.