Full Name: TruTag Microtags
Team: TruTag Technologies Inc., Kapolei, HI
Status: Active, edible
Debut: 2013
Field Position: Within virtually any consumable pharmaceutical
Skill Set: TruTag’s proprietary technology etches unique 'spectral barcodes’ into a porous silicon wafer. The codes can be measured via a portable spectrometer-based optical reader and can reference a label in a secure database, where additional information about the item (including lot number, expiration date, date of manufacture, authorized customer, or country of authorized sale) can be stored as desired, such as a link to a future e-pedigree track and trace system.
Performance Stats:
• Inconspicuous size range (≈50 to 100 micrometers) allows covert or semi-covert use
• High temperature resistance – melting point above 1000°C
• Can be used in or on a product, package, label, or security fiber and applied via sprays, coatings, varnishes, or as part of laminate
• Can be integrated at a number of manufacturing stages
Regulatory Profile: Specifically addressed by FDA’s PCID (physical-chemical identifier) guidance for anti-counterfeiting measures
Coach’s Notes: TruTag microtags are inert, edible and can integrate into the very fabric of a product, independent of packaging and labels, much like fingerprints on a human being. Millions of optical patterns can be embedded into a “TruTag,” which is a dust sized particle less than the width of a human hair. TruTag can be used for the authentication of food, drugs, electronics, industrial components, and consumer products. The TruTag security platform will help prevent counterfeiting, enhance the safety and traceability of food and medicine, improve tracking and logistics, assure product quality, and enable the Internet of Things.
Scout’s Notes: "With their ability to profoundly affect the world's current counterfeit crisis, TruTag Technologies is a great fit for the Technology Pioneer awards," said Tom Byers, professor and endowed chair of entrepreneurship at Stanford University, and a past judge for the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer awards. "Technology Pioneer candidates are evaluated by the world's leading technology experts in a rigorous selection process. This selection distinguishes TruTag Technologies as a global innovator and disruptor."
Team Resources: TruTag Technologies, Inc. makes product authentication solutions addressing the trillion dollar global problem of counterfeit and diverted goods. TruTag was incorporated in 2011 and is a privately-held company headquartered in Kapolei, Hawaii (20 miles west of Honolulu), with offices in California and Texas. The company is backed by Angel investors, investment firms and strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
