We are creating a truly international standard of verification: Culture Circle

Culture Circle promises you an awesome shopping experience with top-notch luxury items at unbeatable prices. The goal is to be the trusted place where sneakerheads and fashion lovers find their dream pieces.

Ackshay Jain, Co- Founder and CEO, Culture Circle, tells us more. Excerpts from an interview: 

DQ: How does your authentication process work, and what sets it apart from traditional verification methods?

Ackshay Jain: After I got burned on a fake pair of Chicago 1s that passed all the usual checks, we knew we needed something better. Our process combines AI vision tech with human expertise in a way nobody else is doing.

Traditional methods just check a list of static features -- box label, stitching pattern, etc. Problem is, counterfeiters figured those out years ago.

We are analyzing relationships between multiple elements simultaneously. The way light hits the leather on a Jordan, how the foam density varies on Yeezys -- these complex patterns are nearly impossible to fake consistently. That's where our edge comes from.

Our partnership with Check Check, global leaders in authentication, has been game-changing. We have integrated their international database with our localized insights to create a truly comprehensive system.

DQ: What key factors does the AI analyze to differentiate between genuine and counterfeit streetwear and sneakers?

Ackshay Jain: We focus on what we call "manufacturing fingerprints" -- all of the unintentional patterns that come from authentic production.

Take Foam Runners for example. Real pairs have specific density variations that create measurable compression patterns. Fakes might look identical in photos, but our models catch the differences immediately.

For streetwear, we analyze thread tension patterns -- something remarkably consistent in authentic items but all over the place in fakes. It's about seeing products not as static objects, but as results of specific manufacturing processes.

DQ: How does AI enhance trust and transparency in India's growing luxury resale market?

Ackshay Jain: The Indian luxury market had a serious trust problem. When we started, nearly 40% of the people we talked to had unknowingly bought fakes from what they thought were legit sources.

Our system creates confidence by showing customers exactly what we're checking. We're not just saying "trust us", we are showing our work.

The numbers don't lie: our authenticity dispute rate is below 0.3%, roughly 8 times better than industry standard. Our collaboration with Check Check means that we are applying global best practices to the Indian market, creating a truly international standard of verification.

DQ: What role does human expertise play alongside AI in ensuring accurate authentication?

Ackshay Jain: We don't use humans to babysit the AI. That would defeat the purpose. We deploy experts strategically where they add the most value.

Our best authenticators focus on edge cases and new fake techniques. When sophisticated counterfeits hit the market, our team creates training data to update our models.

There's also the physical stuff AI can't handle yet -- the weight distribution of a bag, the flex resistance of a midsole. Our senior authenticators with 10+ years experience mentor younger experts, who then help train our models.

DQ: How is Culture Circle improving its AI models to stay ahead of evolving counterfeit techniques?

Ackshay Jain: Counterfeiters have their own R&D, so, we are staying proactive. We have developed what we call "predictive authentication" -- identifying future verification points, before they become necessary.

Right now, we are training on spectroscopic data that analyzes materials at the molecular level. This prepares us for next-gen fakes that might nail visual details, but use substitute materials.

Our collaboration with Check Check gives us a massive advantage here. Their global network acts like an early warning system - when new fakes appear in Europe or the US, we are already preparing before they hit India. This shared intelligence network is something no individual player could develop alone.