The end of deepfakes: A UK startup “fingerprinting” light to prove what’s real could crush global misinformation and $75 billion video piracy market

• Lightmark is trying to verify the authenticity of any video – from any camera
• It turns your physical filming location into the verifiable fingerprint
• Video piracy and deepfakes could be ended with this tech

UK startup Lightmark claims it has developed a brand new approach to video authentication, embedding a fingerprint of light into footage when it’s recorded, instead of trying to figure out a way of verifying authenticity afterwards.

The system works by tweaking film set lighting in ways so small that the human eye can’t pick up – but crucially, cameras can.

When a video is then captured under those modified conditions, it automatically records a hidden signature linked to the physical environment which can be used as a fingerprint to verify authenticity later on.

Physical location watermarks

The resilience of this new type of system is important, the startup says, because it can’t be added after recording, it survives compression and filtering, it doesn’t need specialist tools (and works with smartphone cameras), and is designed to withstand AI hacking attempts.

“I am certain we’ve got a real working solution to one of the biggest issues in the age of digital communication and media,” founder and inventor Daniel Oblitas Garafulic wrote. “We can now create a space where video footage can be trusted beyond any doubt.”

Lightmark positions the technology in two separate fields – firstly, it’s a response to the years-old problem of online piracy. The company used the May 2024 fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk as an example, noting that the event lost more than £100 million to illegal streaming in a single night.

The company says its system could help identify exactly which camera feed or venue source is behind leaking the pirated footage.

Globally, Kearney says the online video piracy market is estimated to be worth a staggering $75 billion a year in lost revenue, but by 2028 this could climb to $125 billion as the trend shows no sign of slowing down.

Secondly, the technology could also be used to rule out AI-generated deepfakes and other video-based misinformation campaigns, with the founders crediting deepfakes with fooling three in four prospective victims.

Lightmark’s work is noteworthy for two distinct reasons – the shift from trying to determine authenticity after content has circulated to “pre-capture authentication,” and the addition of using physical “trusted recording environments” on top of existing software solutions.

“Lightmark turns the lighting in a Ministry of Defence facility, an R&D lab, or a command centre into a tamper-proof signature on every video filmed inside it,” Bifrost Defence MD Nicholas MacGowan shared.

In a press release, the startup criticized existing systems for being insufficient, with C2PA metadata standards not protected against being stripped and AI-based detectors being more prone to errors.

A UK patent application for the technology covering 15 core claims has already been filed, and the startup is looking to raise £1.5 million to move from prototype to early commercial deployments as soon as 2027.

Lightmark’s technology could be useful across political speeches, interviews, press conferences and other international discussions, such as those carried out by the UN. Its developers also argue that it could have major implications for defense and intelligence, as well as war crime investigations and frontline reporting amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

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