Emirati technology firm Relik has closed its seed funding round, attracting participation from investors including KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding and Ayman Sejiny, the company and multiple regional tech outlets reported this month.
Founded in 2023 by Walid Tarabih and later joined by John Tsioris as co-founder, Relik operates an AI-powered authentication platform designed to verify and protect the authenticity of high-value physical assets, such as art, collectibles and luxury goods. The system creates a unique “digital DNA” for items, enabling provenance verification via a smartphone without external hardware like NFC chips, RFID tags or QR codes.
Relik said the newly secured capital will be used to accelerate the rollout of its flagship product, Relik Vault, and expand into sectors including sports memorabilia, luxury markets and cultural heritage assets, where counterfeiting and fake goods are pervasive global challenges. Industry estimates place the global counterfeit market at hundreds of billions of dollars, a backdrop against which demand for reliable authentication tools is rising.
KBW Ventures led by HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud was among the strategic backers drawn to Relik’s mission to “restore trust in authenticity” amid growing concerns over generative technologies and fraud, investors said in public statements on social platforms.
Executives and stakeholders described the seed round as a significant endorsement for Relik’s vision and technology, positioning the Dubai-based startup to deepen partnerships with brands, museums, auction houses and other organisations seeking robust verification solutions in both physical and digital domains.
Financial terms of the seed round were not fully disclosed by Relik, though regional coverage emphasised the mix of institutional and private capital aimed at supporting the company’s next phase of product development and market expansion.
The funding milestone underscores continued investor interest in AI-driven authentication and provenance technologies, particularly in the Middle East, where demand for tech innovation in luxury, cultural heritage and digital trust markets has been growing.
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