New app aims to spot counterfeit luxury goods

It was only a matter of time before an app was designed to see if online purchases of luxury goods are authentic or could indeed be counterfeit.

Entrupy, a tech startup, aims to solve any doubts if the Hermes Birkin or Chanel 2.55 you are buying online is the real deal.

The New York-based company recently raised 2.6 million dollars in a Series A funding round as it aims to expand its technology to become an industry standard application.

Founded in 2016, the company's software is used by hundreds of secondhand luxury sellers to authenticate goods where it can charge 10 dollars per authentication.

According to Luxury Daily, Entrupy’s technology looks to replace the subjective manual authentication process with one that is less open to human error or uncertainty. Using a device provided by the company, the user scans a product and sends images to Entrupy.

The service will compare the images to a database of millions of microscopic photos and return an answer on the product’s authenticity in seconds. The user can also create and share a certificate of authenticity. Entrupy’s on-demand solution allows businesses to authenticate anytime, anywhere with our mobile app and portable device.

How does it work?

The software has complex detection algorithms into that allow to analyze various materials ranging from canvas and leather to metal and wood. The Entrupy device that scans the item takes microscopic photographs of different areas and runs them through a computer that uses proprietary algorithms. Authentication accuracy of over 96.4 percent and is steadily increasing, according to Entrupy.

LVMH invited the company to showcase its solution at the conglomerate’s Luxury Lab during Viva Technology in 2016, just finished a Series A funding round.

"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."

Entrupy currently offers monthly plans which authenticate Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Godard, Dior, Gucci, Fendi, Burberry, Balenciaga and Prada styles.

Photo credit:Entrupy.com