Red Points is a technology startup based in Barcelona, Spain that’s main aim is to provide artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for tackling online counterfeiting. The company was founded back in 2012 by David Casellas and Josep Coll and already has raised more than $14 million in funding with the latest round consisting of a staggering $12 million.
The importation of counterfeit and pirated goods account for more than 2% of the whole global import economy and Red Points is on a mission to try and reduce that figure. Using AI, the company’s bespoke technology can detect digital counterfeits. It scans places such as social media and various selling platforms on the internet to detect any possible fakes.
Once items have been detected as counterfeits, Red Points then gets to work on behalf of their customer to try and get those fakes removed. There will always be a need for this kind of AI as even when one fake is detected and removed another pops up in its place. Counterfeit artists are often very clever and are always coming up with new techniques in which to trick customers. For that reason, Red Points uses AI to keep one step ahead.
Already the company has a number of large clients on its books, including Dope Shirts and Food Huggers. But this new round of funding is going to allow the company to spread its wings even further afield with their first office due to open in New York later this year. With their latest investment, the company will also look to invest more in product applications such as a way to gain more control over distribution channels.
Currently there isn’t too much competition in this field. Entrupy is another company that works at detecting counterfeits but only in high-end end goods such as Prada and Gucci and only when the physical item has been obtained. Others on the up include startups CounterFind and IP Shark.
It’s of no real surprise that Red Points is looking to expand its operations over to the United States. “Being based in the United States gives it an advantage over its European competitors,” says competitor CounterFind. But then saying that, when the market is already worth around half a trillion dollars globally, there’s plenty to go around. So, it looks like the days of counterfeits and fakes are numbered after all.
Source Nanalyze
