Fake brand-name products are often bought with a clear conscience – the regret only comes once you find out the truth. Austrian Authentic Vision aims to fight deception of customers and developed a mobile solution for immediate authentication of products. The startup announced a six-digit investment round led by Dolby Family Trust. Next to the American investment firm several business angels funded the anti-counterfeiting service of the Salzburg-based team.
Access to innovations and bigger markets
The investment sum, which is only made public as “high six digit number”, will be spent on the development of further products as well as to grow their team on an international scale. Besides the financial support, working with Dolby has further benefits for Authentic Vision. “We have meetings on a regular basis, where they help us improving our processes, setting the right and realistic strategic goals and identify resources,” CEO and cofounder Thomas Weiß explained. “Furthermore the Dolby Labs Brand is great and the Dolby Family Ventures gives us great access to the innovators and the US markets.”
Authentic Vision has applied several patents and developed innovative solutions for brand protection and is an official project derived from the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg. Together with the money from former investors, Authentic Vision has over one million capital at the moment and also their service seems profitable. “We have revenues already and expect to hit the break even next year,” Weiß said.
Fighting Piracy with Barcodes
The startup was founded in 2012 by Thomas Weiß und Jürgen Mathwich. When they found out about cheap medicine sold online, they started worrying about consumer protection and product verification. Thus, they came up with the idea for Authentic Vision, a service against product piracy.
Their service offers consumers the possibility to check the genuineness of products themselves. Therefore, they developed the Authentic Vision Unique Label – a special, copy safe barcode that can be scanned with a smartphone and helps to verify products within seconds. Having entered the market in February, the startup is in debate with over 100 customers worldwide and expects their first sales for the coming fall. Their target groups are widespread and range from companies for pharmaceutics over luxury food to electronics, fashion or industrial components.
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