VeryAI, a Proof of Reality platform focused on verifying human identity in AI-driven digital environments, has raised $10 million in a seed funding round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Berggruen Institute and Anagram, according to reports shared with Finbold on March 12.
The funding is the company’s first capital raise and coincides with the launch of its initial product, a hardware-free palm scan identity verification system designed to address risks associated with AI-generated identities and deepfakes.
Palm biometrics verification
As synthetic content becomes easier to generate, traditional authentication tools, including facial recognition, CAPTCHA, and two-factor authentication, are facing growing limitations.
Industry data cited in the announcement suggests the time required for attackers to compromise systems has increased by 22% since 2023, with breaches occurring in an average of 48 minutes.
VeryAI’s system uses palm biometrics, capturing palm scans through a smartphone camera without the need for specialized hardware.
According to the company, the verification model delivers a false acceptance rate of around 1 in 10 million when verifying a single hand, compared with roughly 1 in 1 million for many facial recognition systems. When both hands are used, the rate falls to approximately 1 in 100 trillion.
“Privacy is a human right. But deepfakes and synthetic content present weaknesses that current systems simply can’t keep up with. VeryAI is restoring trust in identity verification by replacing outdated methods with solutions that are accurate, private and frictionless,” said Zach Meltzer, founder and CEO of VeryAI. “Having helped build identity solutions for millions of crypto users, from KYC and reputation scores to ZK Protocols and credential systems, I’ve seen both their value and their limits in the face of AI-driven fraud. VeryAI is building the future of identity verification.”
Platform infrastructure and privacy features
VeryAI said the platform operates on a B2B model, allowing crypto exchanges, fintech firms, and other platforms to integrate palm verification into their authentication systems. The company charges partners based on monthly user verifications, while the system itself works through standard smartphone cameras.
Built on Solana, the platform records palm-scan identity registrations on-chain, using the network’s fast finality and low transaction costs. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko is also an angel investor in the project.
To support privacy and interoperability, the system incorporates Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and the Solana Attestation Service (SAS), allowing users to verify identity across decentralized applications without exposing personal data. VeryAI is also integrating Light Protocol’s ZK compression technology, which stores only state roots on-chain while validating compressed state off-chain to reduce storage costs.
When verification is completed, the platform generates a non-traceable identifier confirming that an action occurred without linking it to a specific individual. The company said it does not store palm images, instead retaining irreversible feature representations that cannot be reconstructed.
VeryAI’s leadership team includes CEO Zach Meltzer, who previously worked on identity systems while helping scale Galxe to more than 6,000 partners and 34 million users, and Chief Science Officer Hua Yang, a researcher in palm biometrics with more than 50 publications and patents.
“Every major platform, whether in finance, crypto, or social media, is grappling with the risks of AI-driven fraud,” said Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain Capital. “VeryAI’s palm verification technology closes that gap with accuracy, privacy and accessibility that no other biometric identity solution has yet to match. This is the foundation for a new standard of trust online.”
VeryAI has also added Matthew Groh, Assistant Professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Principal Investigator of the Human-AI Collaboration Lab, as an advisor. The company is launching a research collaboration with the university focused on improving resilience to deepfakes and strengthening synthetic media detection.
According to the company, the funding will be used to expand the Proof of Reality platform and develop additional tools aimed at distinguishing AI-generated identities from verifiable human users.
Featured image via Shutterstock.
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