VeryAI, a startup developing identity verification technology for the AI era, has raised $10 million in seed funding to expand its “Proof of Reality” platform. The round was led by Polychain Capital, with additional participation from Berggruen Institute and Anagram.
The investment represents the company’s first external funding and coincides with the launch of its initial product: a hardware-free palm scan verification system designed to authenticate real human users in an increasingly AI-driven online environment.
The company says the technology addresses rising concerns about synthetic identities, deepfakes, and automated bots that can bypass traditional authentication methods.
Smartphone-based palm verification and deepfake
As generative AI tools become more sophisticated, identity verification systems such as facial recognition, CAPTCHAs, and two-factor authentication are facing growing limitations.
Synthetic media and automated systems can increasingly replicate human behavior online, making it more difficult for platforms to distinguish genuine users from artificial accounts.
Industry data cited by the company suggests that the time required for attackers to breach systems has increased by 22% since 2023, with the average compromise now occurring in roughly 48 minutes.
VeryAI aims to address these vulnerabilities by introducing biometric verification based on palm recognition, a method the company argues is both highly unique and rarely exposed publicly compared with facial images or fingerprints.
The platform captures palm scans using a standard smartphone camera, eliminating the need for specialized biometric hardware. According to VeryAI, the system analyzes distinctive palm features to create a secure digital identity marker.
Against digital fraud
The company reports that its verification model achieves a false acceptance rate of approximately 1 in 10 million when verifying a single hand.
Using scans from both hands reduces the probability of a false match to about 1 in 100 trillion, significantly lower than many facial recognition systems, which often operate around 1 in 1 million.
Zach Meltzer, founder and CEO of VeryAI, said the platform aims to modernize identity verification as digital fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated.
“Privacy is a human right. But deepfakes and synthetic content present weaknesses that current systems simply can’t keep up with,” Meltzer said. “VeryAI is restoring trust in identity verification by replacing outdated methods with solutions that are accurate, private and frictionless.”
The platform is built on the Solana network, where identity registrations derived from palm scans are recorded on-chain. The company chose Solana for its fast transaction finality and relatively low costs compared with many other blockchain networks.
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, is also participating in the project as an angel investor.
Blockchain infrastructure: Proof-of-Reality
To enhance privacy and interoperability, the system integrates Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) along with the Solana Attestation Service. These technologies allow users to verify their identity across decentralized applications without revealing personal information.
VeryAI is also integrating ZK compression technology from Light Protocol, which stores state roots on-chain while validating compressed data off-chain. This approach reduces storage costs while maintaining the security guarantees of blockchain verification.
Once a verification process is completed, the system generates a non-traceable digital identifier that proves an authentication event occurred without linking it to a specific person. The company emphasizes that palm images themselves are not stored.
Instead, the platform retains irreversible feature representations derived from the scan. According to the company, these mathematical representations cannot be reconstructed into the original biometric image, protecting user privacy while enabling reliable verification.
To support ongoing research into AI security, the startup has also added Matthew Groh, an assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as an advisor. VeryAI plans to collaborate with the university on research aimed at improving human resilience to deepfakes and strengthening the detection of synthetic media.
The company operates a B2B business model, allowing cryptocurrency exchanges, fintech platforms, and online services to integrate palm-based identity verification into their existing authentication systems. Partners are expected to pay subscription-based fees tied to monthly user verification volumes.
The newly raised funding will be used to expand the Proof-of-Reality platform and develop additional technologies aimed at distinguishing real human users from AI-generated identities.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
