Fashion
Sequoia’s Asia spinoffs bet on AI startup fighting online fakes
By
Bloomberg
Published
September 16, 2025
Sequoia Capital’s former Asian arms are investing in a little-known startup that hunts and helps take down unauthorized sales listings of AI chips, drugs, games and luxury products.
Los Angeles-based Marq Vision Inc. raised $48 million in a Series B round led by Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia’s India and Southeast Asia business, with participation from HSG, formerly Sequoia China. Salesforce Ventures and Tokyo-based Coral Capital Inc. also participated alongside existing investors Y Combinator, Altos Ventures Management Inc. and Atinum Investment Co., lifting the total amount raised for the company to $90 million, according to a statement.
The five-year-old startup, which counts some LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE brands among its customers, is opening an office in Tokyo to meet growing calls in the world’s anime and creative industry mecca to combat a surge in copycats with the advent of generative AI.
“It’s kind of AI against AI,” said founder Mark Lee, who declined to comment on the company’s valuation. AI gives the startup the ability to tackle counterfeits at scale, but the same technology is also available to scammers and pirates, helping to contribute to an estimated $3 trillion illicit economy, he said. “The magnitude of the problem has also increased.”
Last year, the startup’s AI tools flagged about 50 million potential intellectual property violations, including impersonations across some 1,500 e-commerce and social media sites. It helped get about 99% of those taken down, Lee said.
Marq Vision’s staff in Shanghai and Seoul have worked with Asian companies to address the high volume of counterfeits manufactured in the region, Lee said. It’s also increasingly working with animation studios, fashion brands and other creators in Asia, as the region grows into an IP powerhouse of its own, he said.
“Japan and Korea are our strong suit, and we want to expand here more quickly,” he said.
The economy grew by 5.6 per cent in Q4 2024 at constant prices.
Sri Lanka’s economy grew by 4.8 per cent YoY in Q4 2025, with lower inflation and exchange rate stability leading to a full year growth of an estimated 5 per cent at constant prices, official statistics show.
The economy grew by 5.6 per cent in Q4 2024 at constant prices.
The industrial sector grew by 7.8 per cent YoY in Q4 2025 .
At current prices, the 2025 GDP grew by 8.8 per cent.
At current prices, GDP grew by 8.8 per cent last year.
“The economic climate surrounded in 2025 was favourable for a solid economic performance through few aspects; entrepreneur friendly inflation started to rise early in the third quarter of 2025 coupled with the mostly stabilize exchange rate amid continuously decreasing interest rate,” the department said in a release.
The industrial sector grew by 7.8 per cent YoY in Q4 2025.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
While war disrupts logistics, a deeper shift is unfolding in Europe.
New rules, including DPP, CSDDD, Ecodesign and EPR, will redefine textile market access, adding 3–7 per cent to costs and demanding full traceability.
Companies delaying compliance risk exclusion, as regulation, not geopolitics, emerges as the industry’s most decisive competitive filter.
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The facility will process natural fibres such as abaca, banana and pineapple into high-quality yarn, addressing long-standing challenges faced by local weavers who have relied on imported materials. This initiative is expected to create new markets for agricultural produce while providing additional income streams for farmers.
The DOST-PTRI, with DOST Region 12, will establish the Regional Yarn Production and Innovation Center in Philippine’s Cotabato to process natural fibres into yarn and support Mindanao’s textile industry.
The facility aims to boost farmer incomes, reduce reliance on imported yarn and strengthen local weaving communities through training, technology transfer and improved supply chain infrastructure.
During the first-quarter meeting of the Regional Research, Development, and Innovation Committee, Evangeline Flor P. Manalang, chief science research specialist of DOST-PTRI’s Technical Services Division, stated “The RYPIC will serve as a key facility to process our natural fibers into yarn and open opportunities for skills training among farmers and local stakeholders.” She also emphasised the project’s role in building a sustainable textile ecosystem in Soccsksargen.
The RYPIC complements existing facilities such as the Natural Textile Fiber Innovation Hub at Sultan Kudarat State University and forms part of broader national programmes including the Clothing and Textile Research Innovation and Investment Agenda (CATRINA) and the FRONTIER initiative. These efforts aim to strengthen the domestic textile value chain, reduce reliance on imports and support the government’s push to expand Telang Pinoy, as highlighted by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his fourth State of the Nation Address.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JP)
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