Iridia
Iridia is a Carlsbad-based nanotechnology company that embeds tamper-proof synthetic DNA molecular identities into physical products for authentication, traceability, and ultra-long-term data storage across luxury goods, medical devices, aerospace, and crypto-asset verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCarlsbad, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Iridia does
Iridia is a privately held nanotechnology company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Carlsbad/San Diego, California. The company has developed a proprietary Molecular Avatar Technology platform that combines engineered synthetic DNA molecules with nanotechnology to embed invisible, tamper-proof molecular identities and customizable data directly into physical products, coatings, plastics, and liquids. The technology is claimed to operate without electronic components, require zero energy, and maintain integrity for thousands of years, distinguishing it from conventional RFID, NFC, and blockchain-only provenance approaches.
Iridia's product surface spans the core Molecular Avatar platform plus three specialized variants: the Molecular Wallet for cold storage of cryptographic private keys (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana) and archival data; Embedded Molecular Data Technology for integration with additive manufacturing; and a Product Verification Portal for enterprise authentication workflows. The Molecular Wallet was validated through the successful March 2025 landing of molecular-stored data on the lunar surface via Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander in Mare Crisium.
The company monetizes through licensing of its molecular technology, sale of Molecular Wallet hardware, and professional services for enterprise integration. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales (targeting aerospace, defense, luxury retail, supply chain, infrastructure/electronics, sports/collectibles, and art verticals) with channel partnerships including SNL Creative (medical devices), Bond by Solana Labs and Baxus (spirits), and Arweave/ASI Alliance (decentralized data). Cumulative disclosed funding is approximately $40 million across rounds from 2017–2021, led by Prime Movers Lab and LifeSci Venture Partners with participation from Western Digital Capital, ATEM Capital, JSR, and others.
Iridia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Iridia
- Legal name
- Iridia Inc.
- Website
- https://iridia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Iridia is a Carlsbad-based nanotechnology company that embeds tamper-proof synthetic DNA molecular identities into physical products for authentication, traceability, and ultra-long-term data storage across luxury goods, medical devices, aerospace, and crypto-asset verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Iridia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Molecular Authentication & DNA-based Data Storage
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Computer Storage Device Manufacturing (334112)
- SIC
- Computer Storage Devices (3572), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Protection & Archiving (WORM, Long-Term Retention) (HDABAEAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Decentralized Storage Networks (IPFS/Filecoin/Arweave, archival & retrieval) (FSAPALAA)
Keywords
Where Iridia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Carlsbad
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Iridia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Molecular Technology Licensing and Solutions: Iridia provides molecular technology solutions for product authenticity, integrity, and traceability across various industries through licensing their Molecular Avatar Technology platform.
- Molecular Data Storage Products: Sale of molecular storage devices including the Molecular Wallet for cryptocurrency backup and archival data storage applications for enterprises, financial institutions, and high-net-worth individuals.
- Enterprise Implementation Services: Professional services for integrating molecular technology into customer products and supply chains, including custom coating solutions and metadata infusion for medical devices and other applications.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Iridia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Iridia combines precisely engineered synthetic DNA molecules with nanotechnology to embed invisible, tamper-proof molecular identities and customizable information into products, materials, and data storage systems. The technology supports product authentication, supply chain traceability, archival data storage, and digital asset cold storage across multiple enterprise verticals.
Product overview
Iridia offers a unified Molecular Avatar Technology platform that combines synthetic DNA molecules and nanotechnology to embed unalterable molecular identity into physical products. The core platform provides four main capabilities: Authenticity (verifiable one-of-a-kind offerings), Traceability (supply chain transparency from production to end-user), Data Infusion (embedding data directly into product materials), and Premium Experiences (personalized and Web3-enabled utilities for product owners). The platform serves multiple industries including Art, Luxury Retail, Supply Chain, Infrastructure & Electronics, Sports & Collectibles, and Aerospace & Defense. Specialized variants include the Molecular Wallet for secure digital asset cold storage, Embedded Molecular Data Technology for manufacturing integration, and a Product Verification Platform portal for authentication services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Molecular Avatar Technology
Quantifiable outcome
- 8% of medical devices in circulation estimated to be counterfeit according to WHO - Iridia's technology addresses this critical safety issue
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Iridia
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments9 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Iridia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Iridia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ArweavecorePartnership to store Arweave Genesis Block data on the moon using Iridia's molecular technology. Arweave is an open-source protocol for permanent data storage, and this collaboration establishes an off-world archive demonstrating extreme data preservation capabilities.
- ASI Alliance (SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol)corePartnership with the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance to store ASI (FET) tokens on the lunar surface using Iridia's Molecular Wallet technology. Represents a significant step toward decentralized AI systems with data stored beyond Earth.
- LifeShipcoreLifeShip provided the lunar payload aboard Dragonfly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Lander to carry Iridia's molecular data payloads to the moon's surface as part of humanity's first off-world data archive.
- Bond by Solana LabscoreBond by Solana Labs partnered with Iridia to introduce onchain molecular authentication for spirits. Bond's web3 loyalty platform combines blockchain-based authentication with Iridia's molecular signatures for dual-layered spirits verification.
- BaxuscoreBaxus, a global marketplace for collectible spirits, partnered with Iridia and Bond by Solana Labs to offer molecular-authenticated whiskey bottles. First implementation was Oakley Spirits 20-year Kentucky bourbon.
- SNL CreativecoreStrategic partnership combining Iridia's molecular data embedding technology with SNL Creative's precision 3D printing capabilities for medical device manufacturing. Focuses on cryptographic security coatings, metadata infusion, and embedded traceability for enhanced patient safety and regulatory compliance.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Iridia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Applied DNA Sciences: Applied DNA Sciences uses synthetic DNA-based taggants and molecular markers for product authentication, brand protection, and supply chain traceability across textiles, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. It is the closest direct peer to Iridia's Molecular Avatar Technology, serving overlapping customer pain points around counterfeiting and provenance with the same underlying DNA-marker chemistry.
- TruTag Technologies: TruTag develops covert, edible silica-based nano-tag authentication solutions for pharmaceuticals, food, and industrial parts. It targets the same product authentication and anti-counterfeiting use cases as Iridia across overlapping verticals (pharma, electronics, luxury), differing primarily in tag chemistry (silica vs. synthetic DNA).
- Haelixa: Haelixa embeds synthetic DNA markers into textile fibers and raw materials to enable traceability and authenticity verification in fashion, luxury, and industrial supply chains. It is a direct competitor in DNA-based traceability with overlapping customer profile in luxury and apparel verticals.
Emerging players
- Catalog Technologies: Catalog is building a DNA-based digital data storage platform encoding large-scale information into synthetic DNA. It overlaps with Iridia's Molecular Wallet and archival storage positioning, though Catalog focuses on exabyte-scale data archival rather than authentication or crypto custody.
Broad incumbents
- Twist Bioscience: Twist Bioscience is a public DNA synthesis platform serving synthetic biology, genomics, and DNA data storage applications. It is both a potential infrastructure supplier to Iridia and a competitor in the DNA data storage opportunity, with broader scale but less specialization in authentication.
- Avery Dennison: Avery Dennison is a global leader in RFID tags, NFC labels, and brand-protection solutions for retail, apparel, and supply chain. It competes with Iridia in authentication and traceability across luxury, retail, and supply chain verticals, representing the cheaper incumbent alternative at scale.
- AlpVision: AlpVision provides digital fingerprint and covert marking authentication for pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, and consumer products. It overlaps with Iridia in authentication use cases but relies on software/digital techniques rather than physical molecular markers, positioning it as a competing incumbent.
- Colorcon: Colorcon supplies film coatings, specialty excipients, and anti-counterfeiting solutions for pharmaceutical and consumer goods packaging. It overlaps with Iridia in pharmaceutical authentication and traceability via coating-integrated security features, serving as a broader incumbent in adjacent formulation/coating chemistry.
Others
- Systech (privately held brand-protection unit): Systech provides serialization, track-and-trace, and authentication solutions for pharmaceuticals and consumer goods. It addresses the same product authentication and anti-counterfeiting problems as Iridia, but with established software/serialization stack rather than molecular markers, and serves overlapping pharma and consumer goods customers.
- DNA Script: DNA Script is an enzymatic DNA synthesis platform enabling faster, on-demand oligonucleotide production. It is a potential upstream supplier whose technology could materially reduce Iridia's per-unit synthesis costs, making it a strategically important ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Iridia social profiles
Digital presenceIridia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Iridia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Iridia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Iridia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Iridia
What does Iridia do?
Iridia combines precisely engineered synthetic DNA molecules with nanotechnology to embed invisible, tamper-proof molecular identities and customizable information into products, materials, and data storage systems. The technology supports product authentication, supply chain traceability, archival data storage, and digital asset cold storage across multiple enterprise verticals.
Is Iridia a public or private company?
Iridia is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Iridia founded?
Iridia was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Iridia based?
Iridia is headquartered in Carlsbad, United States, in the North America region.
How does Iridia make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Molecular Technology Licensing and Solutions are the primary driver. The others are molecular Data Storage Products and enterprise Implementation Services.
Who are Iridia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Applied DNA Sciences, TruTag Technologies and Haelixa. Catalog Technologies is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Twist Bioscience, Avery Dennison, AlpVision and Colorcon. Others are Systech (privately held brand-protection unit) and DNA Script.
Does Iridia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Iridia.
What industry is Iridia in?
Iridia's product category is Molecular Authentication & DNA-based Data Storage. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAEAH, Data Protection & Archiving (WORM, Long-Term Retention), with a secondary code of FSAPALAA, Decentralized Storage Networks (IPFS/Filecoin/Arweave, archival & retrieval). Its NAICS code is 541713 and its SIC code is 3572.