Luxury goods counterfeiting has always been a major issue faced by fashion brands. Fakers are becoming increasingly adept at replicating brand logos and passing off what is known as “superfakes” as genuine products. Start-up company Veritas hopes to solve this problem with its own chip, which is used to verify the authenticity of goods.

Veritas was founded by Luci Holland. She used to be a technical product manager at Tesla and also has a background in design and art. The company's chips are designed to be easily embedded in products without causing damage. Brand owners can use them to verify whether a product is genuine, while consumers can display their ownership certificates through the company's app.

Holland indicates that other methods are more vulnerable to attacks, as digital records can be replicated by copying QR codes or static NFC links.

"Our approach combines secure, certified chip responses with the integration of the product itself. Our chips generate a secure response with each light touch and include an anti-tampering line. We have turned the connection between the object and its digital identity into part of the proof," said Holland.

Veritas The founder informed TechCrunch via email that the company has just launched a second-generation chip, which can operate on metal surfaces and can be scanned through glass.

"The next generation of chips is ready for mass production and supports a wider range of applications, including jewelry, trophies, hard surface products, as well as glass items such as perfume bottles," said Holland. "In addition to our integration in clothing, this also provides brands with more ways to directly embed certifications into their products."

This week, the startup announced a partnership with ATHLOS. ATHLOS is a women's track and field competition founded by Reddit in collaboration with co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and Ohanian is also an investor in Veritas. Under this partnership, 18 championship trophies will be embedded with Veritas chips for verification purposes.

The company also embedded a chip in a replica version of the first pair of Nike sneakers, which was reinterpreted by artist Adam Port. Upon tapping these sneakers with a smartphone, their history and story are displayed.

As of now, Veritas has raised $1.75 million in pre-seed funding, led by the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six of Ohanian. Other investors include DoorDash, co-founder of Stanley Tang; Gloria Zhu, co-founder of the skincare brand Reys; and former TechCrunch editor Josh Constine.

Since its financing in February this year, the company has launched the iOS application for consumers, as well as a brand portal for managing product records and building owner experiences. Through this application and portal, brands can offer experiences such as club membership, event check-ins, and tiered priority purchasing rights for new products.

Veritas participated in this year's TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield, which took place from Tuesday to Thursday. The winners were announced on Thursday afternoon.