VeryAI Raises $10M to Build Palm-Scan System for Verifying Humans Online

  • VeryAI secured US$10 million in seed funding led by Polychain Capital, with backing from Berggruen Institute, Anagram, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.
  • The palm-scan system claims a false acceptance rate of 1 in 10 million per hand  and works on 98% of US smartphones without special hardware.
  • Built on Solana with zero-knowledge proofs, the platform lets users verify their humanity across services without exposing personal biometric data, positioning it as a privacy-focused rival to World’s iris-scanning approach.

VeryAI has raised US$10 million (AU$14 million) in seed funding to build a palm-scan identity verification system aimed at separating real users from AI-generated accounts as deepfake fraud grows across crypto and fintech platforms.

Polychain Capital led the round, with Berggruen Institute, Anagram and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko also participating. 

Based in Miami, VeryAI records identity attestations on the Solana blockchain and uses zero-knowledge proofs, allowing users to prove they are human across different services without disclosing personal data.

Read more: US Inflation Unchanged in February as Bitcoin Holds $70K

Palm Biometrics Over Iris Scans

The company says its system turns palm scans captured with a standard smartphone camera into irreversible mathematical representations, avoiding the need for specialised hardware. 

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 VeryAI is restoring trust in identity verification by replacing outdated methods with solutions that are accurate, private and frictionless.

Zach Meltzer, founder and CEO of VeryAI.

It says no palm images are stored, while liveness checks require users to make random hand gestures to prevent screenshots, recordings and AI-generated spoofs from being used.

The funding puts VeryAI in direct competition with World, formerly Worldcoin, which relies on iris scans for identity checks. VeryAI argues palm biometrics are both highly distinctive and less publicly exposed than facial or iris data, giving them a privacy edge.

Meltzer previously worked on identity verification at Galxe, where the platform expanded to 6,000 partners and 34 million users. 

VeryAI said current partners include MEXC, Colosseum, Clique and Talus, with more centralised exchanges and wallets preparing integrations. 

The company is selling the product through a business-to-business model, charging based on monthly verification volume and targeting exchanges, fintech firms, government agencies and social platforms.

Related: Mastercard Expands Crypto Push With New Network Integrating Binance and Ripple

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