MarqVision Raises $20 million in Series A Round

MarqVision, an Artificial Intelligence-focused anti-counterfeiting software provider, has raised $20 million in its series A financing round.

The round had existing investors rekindling their commitment including Bass Investment, Y-Combinators, and Softbank Ventures while Atinum Investment and DST Global Partners joined the round as new investors.

While the firm’s valuation at this period is unknown, it has raised a combined total of $25 million after its $5 million seed round last year.

With the added funds, MarqVision plans to scale its services beyond brand protection. It intends to develop a one-stop IP operating system that puts brands in total control of their IP rights. This includes creating, managing, protecting, and monetizing their IP rights.

This will put creators and brands in total control of their creations and goods while preventing consumers from falling prey to fake items.

Since many on its list of clientele are European high-end brands, the firm also plans to float a base closer to its clients. Therefore, part of the new funds will also be dedicated to opening a new office in Paris, France according to its CEO adding to its Boston and South Korean office.

The Reach of the MarqVision Startup

The company’s technology is deployed in over 1500 online marketplaces around the world including e-commerce stores, social media, and NFT platforms to combat counterfeiting with little time Investment.

With the onboarding of several brands and creators in the digital space as the sector continues to grow, it is important to protect the marketplace from experienced counterfeiters. Especially since human perception does not make it easy to differentiate between an authentic item and a lookalike.

Compared to its competitors who use human review to screen out counterfeit products in a time-consuming process, MarqVision’s process is mostly automated. Its AI technology also boasts of a 97% accuracy rate.

It provides services for clients like Ralph Lauren, Pokemon, and Didier Dubot. In a recent case study, MarqVision claimed it detected and removed 15,000 fake Ralph Lauren merchandise targeted at the Korean market. The items were worth $1 million according to the firm.

Established in 2020, MarqVision is the novel invention of Mark Lee and Do Kyung Lee. The platform was incubated and funded by Y-combinators.