Vidyuth Srinivasan on AI, Fake Luxury Goods & the Counterfeit Crisis

In this episode of From Vision to Creation, Alexander sits down with Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Entrupy, for an eye-opening conversation about artificial intelligence, counterfeit goods, luxury authentication, entrepreneurship, consumer safety, resilience, and the future of trust in global commerce. Vidyuth’s mission began with a terrifying personal experience. While riding his motorcycle alone through a forest in the middle of the night, his clutch wire broke and his headlight began to fail. He later discovered that recently installed parts—including his battery—were counterfeit. The experience showed him that fake products are not merely cheap imitations; they can put people’s lives at risk. That realization eventually helped inspire Entrupy, an AI-powered product authentication company that helps businesses identify counterfeit goods and protect consumers, sellers, marketplaces, and supply chains. In this conversation, Vidyuth reveals the shocking scale of the counterfeit industry. Fake products are not limited to designer handbags, sneakers, and watches. Counterfeit automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, electronics, wine, rice, eggs, and countless everyday products have appeared across markets around the world. He also explains why counterfeit products can be so dangerous. Because many are manufactured without proper supervision, testing, or quality control, consumers may have no way of knowing which materials or chemicals they contain. Vidyuth shares what Entrupy discovered after testing more than 1,000 counterfeit samples—and why the results changed how he viewed the entire problem. We also explore how Entrupy uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, microscopic imaging, and millions of data points to distinguish authentic products from sophisticated counterfeits. Vidyuth explains what AI can detect that the human eye may overlook, why human experts remain essential, and how combining human judgment with machine intelligence creates a more scalable and accurate authentication system. Beyond technology, Vidyuth opens up about the realities of entrepreneurship. He discusses building Entrupy from an idea, surviving periods with only months of financial runway, navigating COVID-19, collecting data for years before selling the product, rejecting an early acquisition offer, and turning what once seemed like an impossible problem into a global company. He also shares powerful lessons about leadership, perseverance, impatience, decision-making, long-term vision, and building a mission-driven team. Vidyuth explains why impatience can become a competitive advantage, why making a decision is sometimes more important than making the perfect decision, and why a “10-year overnight success” still requires wanting success today. This episode is packed with insights for entrepreneurs, founders, business owners, technology leaders, luxury resellers, collectors, investors, AI enthusiasts, and anyone interested in counterfeit products, consumer protection, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, leadership, and building a company that solves a meaningful global problem. 🎙️ Hosted by Alexander Schmieding In this interview, you’ll learn: - How counterfeit motorcycle parts nearly put Vidyuth’s life at risk - Why nearly anything that can be manufactured can be counterfeited - The hidden health and safety risks of fake products - What Entrupy discovered after testing over 1,000 counterfeit samples - How fake rice, eggs, cosmetics, medicine, and automotive parts are created - Why the counterfeit market continues to grow - How AI can authenticate physical products - What artificial intelligence can detect that humans may miss - How supervised and unsupervised machine learning work - Why AI should strengthen human experts rather than replace them - How Entrupy authenticates luxury handbags, sneakers, and apparel - How businesses can become Entrupy-verified - Why Entrupy provides a financial guarantee with its authentications - How Entrupy became an authentication partner for major marketplaces - Why the company originally explored art, wine, and food authentication #VidyuthSrinivasan #Entrupy #ArtificialIntelligence #CounterfeitGoods #LuxuryAuthentication #AI #Entrepreneurship #FromVisionToCreation #Podcast #LuxuryResale #MachineLearning #ConsumerProtection #StartupFounder #BusinessLeadership Episode Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyuthsrinivasan https://www.entrupy.com/ https://www.instagram.com/fromvisiontocreation https://www.tiktok.com/@fromvisiontocreation https://www.instagram.com/alexschmieding Subscribe for more conversations with visionaries turning ideas into reality. This podcast is brought to you by Proper Placement — a full-service marketing agency helping businesses grow through social media, paid advertising, website design, email campaigns, and more. Learn more at www.properplacement.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices