Ennoventure Inc., a company that provides brands a way to protect their products using invisible artificial intelligence-powered watermarks, said today it has raised $8.9 million in early-stage funding led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Tanglin Venture Partners.

Existing investor Fenice Investment Group, among others, also participated in the Series A round.

Ennoventure’s technology platform uses AI and cryptography to create invisible signatures for digital packaging or directly onto products. This allows customers and brands to provide real-time authentication of products within supply lines or in retail outlets.

The way that it functions is a company shares the artwork of a product or package with the company and it uses an AI algorithm to add an invisible watermark signature to the artwork. This does not visibly change the artwork in any way, however. When it is printed onto a box, bottle, package, stamped or shrink-wrapped it remains intact.

The customers can authenticate products using another AI algorithm on a smartphone, which can detect the invisible watermark within the artwork. According to the company, the encrypted watermarks are nearly impossible to replicate and do not damage or change the artwork. They can be generated within 48 hours and scale to millions of products within days.

Scans can also be tracked in real time on a dashboard, allowing companies to get a quick understanding of how authentication is used in the wild.

Ennoventure’s technology uses a cryptographic technique similar to steganography, which is the practice of hiding information within another image so it’s invisible without special examination. In this case, the technology hides authentication data in packaging artwork. Modifying the image or photographing it destroys the encrypted information. That means counterfeit products that simply copy or scan the packaging will not have the AI-generated watermarks created by the company and cannot be authenticated as genuine.

The company said that although Quick Response codes and barcodes have been beneficial to combat counterfeiting, they are extremely susceptible to counterfeiting. No matter how many advanced anti-counterfeit measures companies put into their products, many customers find it difficult to distinguish genuine from fake.

“Most brands rely on proprietary technologies that only they can validate, leaving customers unarmed against counterfeit products. Ennoventure’s technology changes this dynamic by empowering customers with the tools they need to authenticate products before purchasing,” Padmakumar Nair, cheif executive and founder at Ennoventure told SiliconANGLE. “With this capability, consumers can make informed decisions, leading to greater satisfaction and stronger brand loyalty. This not only enhances the buying experience but also positively impacts brand trust and Net Promoter Scores, reinforcing the value of transparency in today’s marketplace.”

In one particular use case, Ennoventure partnered with an automotive brand to protect against counterfeit parts, in particular spark plugs. According to the firm, the company was seeing a 20% to 30% hit to its revenue from counterfeiting, even with advanced measures deployed. Spark plugs were chosen because they had the highest rates of fakes and created the greatest risk in the field when they misfired or melted.

The company said its technology has been adopted for industries such as automotive, industrial spare parts and fast-moving consumer retail goods, where its customers have seen great benefit from advanced genuine product authentication.

Ennoventure said that the new funding will allow the company to scale up its operations globally and expand its footprint in the United States, United Arab Emirates and India, where it currently has offices.

Image: Ennoventure