Exclusive: Startup VeryAI raises $10M for palm-based ID verification
Illsutration: Maura Kearns/Axios
VeryAI, which is building a palm-based identity verification platform, raised $10 million in seed funding, CEO Zach Meltzer tells Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: Financial apps and exchanges are struggling with bot accounts and multifactor-authentication fatigue as AI-generated spoofing becomes cheaper and more convincing.
Zoom in: Polychain Capital led the round, with Berggruen Institute, Anagram and several crypto angel investors participating.
How it works: VeryAI's technology enables end users to scan their palms through a partner app using a standard phone camera.
- Its platform analyzes principal lines and creases in the palm, which it says provide more surface area than fingerprints.
- The system also prompts users to perform a quick, randomized hand gesture to confirm they are physically present, blocking screenshots, recordings and AI-generated spoofs.
Between the lines: VeryAI allows partners to deploy through existing mobile apps using a software development kit (SDK), unlike hardware-based biometric systems that require dedicated scanners.
- The company claims a single-hand scan has a false acceptance rate of 1 in 10 million, compared with Apple's published 1 in 1 million rate for Face ID.
- The company says it does not store palm images and instead keeps an irreversible mathematical representation.
Context: Meltzer previously worked on on-chain identity tools at Galxe and says attempts to curb bots and "Sybil" attacks with third-party identity solutions fell short.
- "All of these tools were either too restrictive or not restrictive enough for our clients," he says.
State of play: The company is starting with crypto platforms, where fraud pressure is high, but says it is in early discussions with banks and government agencies.
- Its largest early customer is crypto exchange MEXC, which has rolled the system out for withdrawal verification in place of traditional one-time codes, Meltzer says.
- VeryAI charges partners on a usage basis, collecting fees per registration and per re-verification.
What's next: VeryAI plans to expand integrations and add additional fraud detection tools alongside palm verification.
