Optical AI tech company Alitheon bags $8m in funding from Emerald Technology Ventures and eBay Ventures
Alitheon has announced the closing of a $8 million Series A1 funding round led by Emerald Technology Ventures, with participation from eBay Ventures and support from existing investors.
The cash will be used to accelerate global deployment of Alitheon's FeaturePrint technology. It says that industry has long relied on barcodes, tags, and stickers, but these external proxy markers can be damaged, detached, or counterfeited. Standard machine learning only identifies objects at a class level, recognising a generic part rather than a specific asset. Alitheon captures the inherent surface details of an object to create a unique, unforgeable identity.
The result is pitched as ‘biometrics for things’: a Zero Trust framework where no item is assumed authentic until its digital fingerprint is verified via a standard camera. With nothing added, there is no marker for bad actors to spoof, ensuring an unbreakable link between the physical object and its digital record, those involved claim.
"Securing support from such powerhouses proves the world is ready for digital first serialisation, provenance, and traceability," says Roei Ganzarski, CEO at Alitheon. "We aren't just identifying goods; we are powering the trust layer of the global economy, providing a level of security that additives and standard AI simply cannot match."
"We look for technologies that solve fundamental industrial challenges at scale," says Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures. "Alitheon's ability to provide one to one serialisation without the need for labels or tags is a game-changer for global supply chains. By establishing a 'Zero Trust' framework for physical goods, Alitheon is providing the essential data integrity required for the future of automated manufacturing and logistics."
"As recommerce continues to grow, trust and provenance are becoming increasingly important across high value categories," comments Henri Jaanimägi, Global Head at eBay Ventures. "Alitheon's 'biometrics for things' represents an important step forward in the broader trust infrastructure needed to support more transparent and confident buying and selling experience."
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
