Provenia careers

Provenia is building PASS Key, a trust layer for high-value physical objects. A small embedded security element, which combines a physically unclonable function (PUF) with a secure cryptographic module, is attached to or built into an object at its point of origin. At enrollment, it records a cryptographic measurement of the object's own physical features: the weave and surface of a canvas, the stitch pattern inside a handbag, the micro-features of a machined part. The chip and the object are bound together.

Anyone authorized can verify the object with a reader. If someone cuts the tag out and moves it to a fake, the chip still responds, but the object no longer matches and verification fails. Each verification adds to a tamper-evident provenance record, so ownership, servicing and transfers build a history that can't be quietly rewritten. Brands, insurers, marketplaces and owners access that record through a subscription API. The hardware is a low-cost, one-time component; the recurring value is in the trust record.

The problem

Counterfeiting drains billions from luxury brands, collectors, insurers and manufacturers. Today's defenses share one weakness: the proof of authenticity can be separated from the thing it describes. Paper certificates get forged. Holograms, QR codes and NFC tags get copied or transplanted onto counterfeits. Blockchain ledgers record whatever they're told, and if the item doesn't match the entry, the ledger can't tell. The result is fraud in resale markets, disputed insurance claims, devalued genuine goods and eroding trust.

Why now

The building blocks are proven and affordable: PUFs, secure elements and high-resolution surface imaging. What hasn't existed is an architecture that ties them to the object itself. Provenia's patent-pending design does that.

Where we start

We start with luxury handbags, watches and fine art, where a single counterfeit costs thousands and brands guard their names closely.