• UAE-based Relik has closed a seed funding round with participation from KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding, and Ayman Sejiny.
• Founded in 2023 by Walid Tarabih and joined later by John Tsioris, Relik is an AI-powered authentication platform that empowers collectors, brands, and marketplaces to verify authenticity.
• Funds will allow Relik to roll out other products and expand across various sectors, such as sports, luxury, and heritage markets.

Press release:

Relik, a UAE-born authentication platform blending AI with advanced security technologies to verify, protect, and preserve the authenticity of collectibles, art and cultural treasures, has announced the closing of its seed investment round. 

The round, with participation from KBW Ventures, Naatt Holding, Fort Holding, and Ayman Sejiny, will allow Relink to accelerate its expansion across sports, luxury, and heritage markets, bridging the physical and digital worlds with technologies that enable anyone to verify an item's authenticity in a matter of seconds, using only a smart device.

As the global counterfeit market surpasses an estimated $467 billion and generative technologies continue to blur the lines between what is real and artificial, Relik is deploying technology to safeguard human legacy and restore trust in authenticity.

The investment will accelerate the rollout of the Relik Vault, an AI-powered, tamper-proof authentication platform. This technology allows brands, artists, and institutions to protect their assets and build consumer trust through verifiable provenance.

Walid Tarabih, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Relik, said, “We are ensuring authenticity in a fakeable world. 

“Counterfeits don't just impact economies; they erase identity, creativity and truth. Along with our investors, we're building a movement to make the world's stories verifiable again.” 

HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, commented, “Relik is creating a new global standard for truth and trust. At a time when counterfeiting and AI-generated content are rising, Relik's mission to protect authenticity carries both cultural and commercial value.”

Relik’s technology gives physical assets a unique “digital DNA”, permanently binding each item to its rightful story through a transparent, tamper-proof system. It bridges the physical and digital worlds, allowing anyone to verify an item’s authenticity within seconds using only a smart device.

Crucially, Relik eliminates the need for external hardware such as NFC chips, RFID tags, or QR codes, requiring nothing more than the object itself and a mobile device. 

The company’s foundation is strengthened by the operational expertise of John Tsioris, Founder of InstaShop. Joining as a pre-seed investor and co-founder, Tsioris brings the scaling expertise that built one of the region's most successful digital ventures and has accomplished one of the largest tech exits of the MENA region.

The investment will accelerate Relik's expansion across sports, luxury, and heritage markets. The company has already cultivated an ecosystem of partnerships with sports legends, museums, and auction houses bound by the conviction that authenticity matters.