Poshmark acquires sneaker authentication firm Suede One

US-based secondhand fashion marketplace, Poshmark, Inc., has acquired Suede One, a sneaker authentication platform that uses machine learning, computer vision, and expert human assessment to virtually authenticate sneakers.

Poshmark’s first purchase shows the company’s commitment to strategic investments that will drive platform innovation, accelerate growth in high-growth resale categories, and improve the user experience to attract and keep both buyers and sellers.

Manish Chandra, Poshmark CEO and founder, said that they’re laser-focused on making strategic investments that fuel the continued growth of their business, deliver the best overall experience for buyers, and make their marketplace the number one, most trusted destination for sellers.

Chandra added that Suede One has developed impressive virtual authentication capabilities that will enable them to provide tangible benefits to its community, scale its authentication services in meaningful ways, and accelerate its momentum in sneakers and luxury goods, two of the resale space’s fastest-growing categories. They’re happy to have the Suede One team join Poshmark, and they’re excited to see what they can accomplish together.

Suede One’s technology, which was founded in 2020, allows for an inventoryless way to authentication. The system examines product photos and uses algorithms to determine if an item is genuine or counterfeit. Based on internal testing, Suede One can automatically validate the majority of submissions for popular sneakers like Jordan 1s and Yeezy 350s with higher than 99% accuracy. Human specialists examine the submissions for various footwear types with the use of the company’s proprietary authenticator technology. With the broader resale community as well as recognized resellers, Suede One has earned a reputation for credible and quick authentication, authenticating a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes that sold for $1.8 million at auction. With the broader resale community as well as recognized resellers, Suede One has earned a reputation for credible and speedy verification, including certifying a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes that sold for $1.8 million at auction.

Suede One’s CEO, Matt Forloine, said that they built this firm to solve a critical concern for the reseller community—creating technology that protects them from fraud and offers rapid, accurate authentication that they can rely on. By joining forces, Poshmark and Suede One will be able to expand their technology and grow these services to new products and categories, benefiting as many consumers as possible.

Suede One’s virtual authentication capabilities will complement Posh Protect, which guarantees a full refund for any item not matching its listing description, and Posh Authenticate, which will continue to offer free authentication by Poshmark’s team of luxury experts for orders of $500 or more. With this acquisition, Poshmark will be able to augment and scale these services to support both buyers and sellers on more transactions and begin offering virtual authentication for sneakers at multiple price points, with the potential to expand to additional categories.