US Homeland Security Funds Anti-Forgery Blockchain Projects in Latest R&D Round

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s research and development wing, the Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate, on Friday awarded $817,712 in total to five blockchain startups in a bid to reimagine the federal government’s anti-forgery and counterfeit prevention operations.

From creating digital Social Security Number alternatives to building e-commerce tracing systems, the winners have up to six months to develop blockchain proofs-of-concepts for DHS’ client agencies. S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), essentially an equity-free tech accelerator within S&T, is funding the round.

• Spherity GmbH received $145,000 to develop a “digital twin” record of inbound e-commerce packages. The German company’s system would share critical information among parties without compromising privacy, SVIP said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the client.
• New Zealand-based MATTR LIMITED will build U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services a digitally issued essential worker license using its $200,000 prize. S&T officials said COVID-19’s work shutdowns have proven the need for distributed, verifiable digital credentialing systems that get essential staff back to work.
• Mesur.IO will retrofit its Earthstream environmental analytics platform for CBP’s food-tracing efforts. With $193,612, the North Carolina firm plans to identify and track toxins, pathogens and other undesirables across the supply chain.
• SVIP veteran SecureKey Technologies has now won an additional $193,000 to create a digital alternative to the Social Security Number that gives its holder full informational control. DHS is already under departmental order to phase out the highly insecure SSN, and Toronto-based SecureKey could play a part in that.
• Mavennet Systems, also an SVIP regular, this time won $86,100 to digitally trace natural gas shipments between the U.S. and Canada, its home country. CBP said it aims to use Mavennet’s Neoflow platform to give regulators a better look inside cross border gas exchanges in accordance with the USMCA trade agreement.
• S&T said it chose the five winners from 80 applicants who competed for funding following the directorate’s June industry day.

Related Stories

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.