Dust Identity

Dust Identity develops an object authentication and traceability system built on the Diamond Unclonable Security Tag (DUST), a marker made from engineered diamond dust (nanodiamonds) applied to a physical item. The randomly arranged diamond particles form a constellation that is read by an optical scanner, producing an identifier that the company describes as discreet, durable and clone-proof. Each physical identity is bound to a digital record that accumulates data over the object's lifetime, creating an anchored digital thread used to track an item's pedigree and provenance from manufacture through use and resale.

The company positions the technology across aerospace and defense, general supply chain, secure electronics, premium retail and spirits, jewelry, sports and entertainment memorabilia, and fine art. Stated use cases include reducing manual paperwork and data-entry errors on aerospace assets, verifying that cargo has not been compromised and identifying who has handled it, tracking component-level provenance and tamper detection for critical electronics, anti-counterfeiting for luxury brands, binding jewelry hallmarks to a digital twin, controlling game-used and team-issued sports merchandise, and detecting forgeries in artwork. Packaged offerings referenced on the company's site include raw material traceability, certified pre-owned programs, return fraud detection, security labeling and packaging, high-value asset identity, and fraud detection, delivered through the DUST Identity Platform.

The diamond dust used is described as an inexpensive industrial byproduct rather than a luxury material, which the company frames as making the marker affordable to scale. Its solution has been built using SAP HANA Cloud.

Business model

Dust Identity supplies a physical marking material together with optical reading and a software platform that maintains the digital record for each marked object, sold to brands, manufacturers and organizations across regulated and high-value industries. Named productized programs include raw material traceability, certified pre-owned, return fraud detection, security labeling and packaging, and high-value asset identity.

Traction

After emerging from stealth in 2018, the company reported launching several pilot programs and doubling headcount by the time of its 2019 Series A. Publicly referenced deployments include the New England Patriots for memorabilia authentication, Mad Arts as the first museum to use the solution, and a partnership with Oxygen Esports for game-used merchandise. The company raised $40 million in Series B funding in December 2023.

Latest developments

In December 2023 the company closed a $40 million Series B and launched a mobile, on-demand authentication product line together with an Oxygen Esports partnership. Subsequent activity includes Mad Arts becoming the first museum to deploy the solution and coverage in Retail Today's 2024 Security and Loss Prevention edition on the use of product transparency and authenticity in retail loss prevention.