The German specialist in B2B direct marketing TAKKT AG, with its venture investment company TAKKT Beteiligungsgesellschaft (TBG), took part in the recent seven-figure amount Series B investment round in Authentic Vision.
Authentic Vision provides a solution to the increasing global counterfeit problems: It makes the world a safer place while protecting peoples´ health and securing revenues for companies and economic value for industries. The TBG has invested in Authentic Vision as the only global solution that provides a scalable protection and secure connection of any products with a simple scan, via any smartphone, anywhere.
Due to global, multichannel distribution via e-commerce platforms and diversified resellers, the sale of counterfeited and illegal products gets easier than ever. Existing ways to authenticate fake and illegal products are either relying on expensive and thus restricted available equipment or even on the human eye only, which may easily lead to human failure. Therefore, innovation is key for solving these problems.
Franziskus Josten, Director of Corporate Development at TAKKT, commented: “We have been very impressed by the highly dedicated and skilled team of Authentic Vision and their cutting edge technology and we are excited to join them as a smart investor in their Series B financing round. We are committed to working together with the team and the existing investors, who bring a variety of complementary strength with them, in order to help accelerate the growth and further development of Authentic Vision.”
Thomas Weiss, Founder and CEO of Authentic Vision, added: “We are very happy and proud that TBG has become our newest shareholder. They instantly understood our technology and therefore our potential. TAKKT not only brings new funds, but will open their global supplier and customer base for Authentic Vision, which is key for our future growth. With TAKKT as a significant shareholder Authentic Vision will accelerate much faster and will also expand into new business-to-business markets.”
A Simple Scan to Protect and Connect
Authentic Visions next generation solution enables companies and their customers to authenticate products with a simple smartphone-scan of a secure tagging that is impossible to duplicate. The products get a 100% copy-proof “fingerprint”, which consists of a hologram, a data matrix and a serial number. The tagged goods can be authenticated instantly with a scan via the free Check If Real App that is built on an AI driven image processing technology. In real-time to the scan, the web platform provides the companies with Smart Data on the individual product location, non-authorized tags and customer insides. Use cases for that are never ending. Where security and authentication is needed, Authentic Visions solution is the only secure option: from the secure plumbing to safe digital assets on direct marketing goods.
Expanding the Global Customer Base
Authentic Vision has acquired big global customers like HDMI, Elsewedy Electric, Vulli or Laminatech. Due to the trust of their customers, partners and investors, the company’s vision – to be the globally trusted, most used secure bridge between the physical and the digital world – gets reached in big steps. Authentic Vision is expanding its global network to further increase the business in North America, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
About TAKKT Venture Investments
The TAKKT Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (TBG) was founded in January 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of TAKKT AG, a leading B2B direct marketing specialist for business equipment in Europe and North America. TBG is looking for strategic investments as a “smart investor” in young, fast-growing companies which focus on B2B direct marketing or relevant solutions alongside the value chain of the TAKKT companies. TBG focuses on minority investments and on young companies that are already operating in the market and looking for external partners to finance their growth initiatives. The start-ups get support in their growth and internationalization through know-how transfer and co-operations with the international TAKKT companies. On the other side TBG allows TAKKT to gain direct access to innovative business models, new products and visionary founders. –For more info, please visit www.takkt.de/en/about-takkt/investments/
ABOUT AUTHENTIC VISION
Authentic Vision is a provider of mobile authentication solutions with offices in Salzburg/Austria and San Francisco/USA. Founded in 2012 the company holds several patents and is cooperating closely with world’s leading security organizations and suppliers to stay abreast of the latest technical developments in the fields of brand protection and direct customer communication solutions. The company is constantly growing in numbers, with a revenue growth of 300%-400% per anno.
