Tagsmart
Tagsmart is a London-based art provenance platform founded in 2016 that provides physical Certificates of Authenticity, DNA Tags, and blockchain-hashed Digital Certificates to individual artists, collectors, galleries, and art fairs, operating a freemium model with paid physical products.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Tagsmart does
Tagsmart Certification Limited (operating as Tagsmart, branded "An ArtAncestry Service") is a London-based art provenance and authentication company founded in 2016. It provides a digital platform paired with physical security products — Certificates of Authenticity (printed on 270-280gsm archival paper with holographic seals and proprietary invisible markers), DNA Tags (physical identifiers for artworks across multiple substrates), and Digital Certificates hashed onto the Polygon blockchain. The platform also includes the Register (a searchable database of artist profiles), Channels for sharing artwork data with third parties, and catalogue management features. The company is a co-founder of the National Arts Archive project targeting 1000-year provenance records, and filed a patent in 2022 on a crypto-fingerprint technology that generates unique identifiers from any artform or material.
Tagsmart operates a freemium, product-led go-to-market model: the digital platform is free to use with unlimited artwork records, and revenue is generated from physical product sales priced at £12.50 per Certificate and £12.50 per DNA Tag. Customers — predominantly individual artists, collectors, galleries, and art fairs — self-serve through certify.tagsmart.com, with verification triggered at first Certificate order and optional bulk invoicing for larger accounts. Customers cited include Beers London (gallery), and artists Marit Geraldine Bostad, Deborah Azzopardi, and Larissa Kouznetsova. The company reports 5,000+ active users and a Q2 2026 Tagsmart 3.0 platform launch.
The company is privately held, registered in England and Wales (company number 12503345), with 11-50 employees based at 34 Stoneleigh Street, London. Tagsmart has no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors in the data set beyond a 2018 Gotham Gal Ventures entry with a $0 amount, no disclosed revenue, and no public management team roster aside from founders Steven Cooke (Co-Founder and CIO) and James Fryer (CTO).
Tagsmart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tagsmart
- Legal name
- Tagsmart Certification Limited
- Website
- https://tagsmart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tagsmart is a London-based art provenance platform founded in 2016 that provides physical Certificates of Authenticity, DNA Tags, and blockchain-hashed Digital Certificates to individual artists, collectors, galleries, and art fairs, operating a freemium model with paid physical products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tagsmart industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Art Authentication and Provenance Software
- NAICS
- Packaging and Labeling Services (56191)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Anti-Counterfeit & Authentication Packaging (Holograms, QR/NFC, Track-and-Trace) (IMALANAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Security, Tamper-Evident & Track-and-Trace Printing (IMALAKAJ), Art, Collectibles & Luxury RWA Tokenization (FSADAEAK)
Keywords
Where Tagsmart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tagsmart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Certificate Sales: Tagsmart sells physical Certificates of Authenticity at £12.50 per unit (inc UK P&P). Each Certificate includes holographic security features, archival quality printing, branding and personalisation options, and access to the digital provenance platform for collectors.
- DNA Tag Sales: DNA Tags are sold at £12.50 each for paper, card, mounted works and frames. Tags link physical artworks to the digital provenance record. Packing and postage included for orders of 5+ tags.
- Platform Access (Free Tier): The digital platform is provided free of charge. Users can set up accounts and create unlimited artwork records at no cost. Revenue is generated from physical product sales rather than platform subscriptions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Platform Access |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Physical Certificate |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | DNA Tags |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Tagsmart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tagsmart provides a digital provenance platform paired with physical security products for the art market. Artists, collectors, and galleries self-serve on the free platform to create artwork records and order DNA Tags (£12.50 each) and Physical Certificates of Authenticity (£12.50 each). Digital Certificates are blockchain-hashed counterparts filed on the Polygon network for immutable verification.
Product overview
Tagsmart is an art provenance and certification platform founded in 2016, offering a unified suite of physical and digital products for artwork authentication. The core offering consists of the Tagsmart Platform (digital account management and artwork records), paired with Physical Certificates of Authenticity (archival paper documents with holographic seals), Digital Certificates (blockchain-hashed counterparts), and DNA Tags (physical tagging solutions). The platform integrates with Polygon blockchain for optional notarisation and supports Channels for third-party data sharing. Additional services include Catalogue Management (edition tracking and print-on-demand) and the Statement of Provenance service. Pricing includes a free platform tier, with Physical Certificates at £12.50 and DNA Tags at £12.50 each.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Certificates of Authenticity (Physical)
Quantifiable outcome
- Just 90 seconds of artist time to issue a Certificate - all printing, proofing, packing and posting handled by Tagsmart
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Tagsmart
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Tagsmart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature6 records
Tagsmart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- PolygoncoreAs of June 2022, Tagsmart's Digital Certificates are filed on the Polygon blockchain. Polygon provides the immutable ledger for hashing Digital Certificates, creating irrefutable provenance records that cannot be altered retroactively.
- National Arts ArchivecoreTagsmart is a founder of the National Arts Archive project, which aims to create 1000-year provenance records independent of all digital platforms. This initiative demonstrates Tagsmart's commitment to long-term preservation of art provenance.
Scale indicators3 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Tagsmart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Verisart: Blockchain-based art and collectibles authentication platform offering digital certificates of authenticity. Directly comparable to Tagsmart in serving artists and galleries with blockchain-anchored provenance records.
- Artory: Blockchain registry for art and collectibles provenance, partnered with auction houses. Tagsmart already integrates with Artory for public key directory listings, indicating direct competition in shared customer segments.
- Codex Protocol: Blockchain-based provenance and identity protocol for art and collectibles. Competes with Tagsmart on the same core promise of tamper-evident ownership records for artworks and collectibles.
Emerging players
- ARTRAGEO: Blockchain-based certificate of authenticity platform for artworks. Smaller and earlier-stage than Tagsmart but addresses the same anti-counterfeiting use case for artists.
- Artmyn: Uses high-resolution imaging, AI and microscale analysis to authenticate artworks. Complementary technology approach to Tagsmart's DNA/crypto-fingerprint tags, serving galleries and collectors.
- Sourcery: Provenance research and authentication services firm serving collectors, estates and institutions. Overlaps with Tagsmart in cataloguing and provenance documentation, though positioned more as a professional service.
- Provenance Proof: Fine art provenance verification and certification service. Directly addresses the same authentication and ownership-record use case as Tagsmart's Certificates of Authenticity.
- Entrupy: AI- and hardware-based authentication for luxury goods including art and collectibles. Compares to Tagsmart in delivering authentication outcomes via proprietary technology, although focused on physical-object analysis rather than blockchain records.
Broad incumbents
- Artlogic: Established gallery management, inventory and CMS platform widely used by art galleries. Overlaps with Tagsmart's gallery-facing provenance use case as part of a broader gallery operations suite.
- Artnet: Major art market data, auction listings and pricing database. Adjacent to Tagsmart in serving collectors and galleries with provenance-related information at significantly larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Tagsmart social profiles
Digital presenceTagsmart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tagsmart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Tagsmart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tagsmart 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 Tagsmart
What does Tagsmart do?
Tagsmart provides a digital provenance platform paired with physical security products for the art market. Artists, collectors, and galleries self-serve on the free platform to create artwork records and order DNA Tags (£12.50 each) and Physical Certificates of Authenticity (£12.50 each). Digital Certificates are blockchain-hashed counterparts filed on the Polygon network for immutable verification.
Is Tagsmart a public or private company?
Tagsmart is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Tagsmart founded?
Tagsmart was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tagsmart based?
Tagsmart is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Tagsmart make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Certificate Sales are the primary driver. The others are DNA Tag Sales and platform Access (Free Tier).
Who are Tagsmart's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Verisart, Artory and Codex Protocol. Emerging players are ARTRAGEO, Artmyn, Sourcery, Provenance Proof and Entrupy. Broad incumbents are Artlogic and Artnet.
Does Tagsmart have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tagsmart.
What industry is Tagsmart in?
Tagsmart's product category is Art Authentication and Provenance Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMALANAJ, Anti-Counterfeit & Authentication Packaging (Holograms, QR/NFC, Track-and-Trace), with a secondary code of IMALAKAJ, Security, Tamper-Evident & Track-and-Trace Printing. Its NAICS code is 56191.