Czech startup Lightly Technologies tests an AI tool for tracing the origin of drugs with police in the US
The Czech startup Lightly Technologies has launched a pilot project in Georgia, USA, where the Catcher device with an AI platform helps police trace the origin of drugs based on chemical "fingerprints" of field samples.
The Brno-based startup Lightly Technologies has launched its first pilot project in the city of Fitzgerald in the state of Georgia, where its technology is helping to trace the origin of drugs directly in the field in cooperation with the local police department. The company announced the information on its LinkedIn, and it was picked up by the server Lupa.cz. It involves the portable device Catcher, which analyzes chemical samples in the field and creates their characteristic "fingerprint." The platform, using artificial intelligence, compares this fingerprint with records in a database and looks for similarities with other drugs or chemical substances from earlier cases, which, according to the company, can reveal connections between seemingly unrelated cases and help map drug distribution networks.
The company previously cooperated with the police in Huntsville, Alabama, in the US, but there the technology was not deployed directly in the field. Lightly is also, according to its own statements, building relationships with Interpol and the DEA. The startup was founded by Monika Štěpánová and Lukáš Nejedl, and besides detecting drugs, they see potential for the technology in verifying the authenticity of medicines or detecting food counterfeits.
This year, the JSK Investments group (Simona Kijonková and Jaromír Kijonka) invested in the company in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and angel investor Tomáš Krátký also joined in. The company plans to build a global database of chemical fingerprints in the future and to expand the deployment of the technology among security forces, at airports, and at customs on an international scale.
Why it matters
It shows how a Czech startup, backed by investors (JSK Investments, Tomáš Krátký), is making inroads into the security segment in the US and building relationships with international institutions such as Interpol and the DEA, which could serve as a reference case for further expansion into areas such as verifying medicines or food counterfeits.
Relevant practical impact
What this means
For a business
Companies in the security, pharmaceutical, or food industries can follow the development of Lightly Technologies' technology as a potential tool for detecting counterfeits and verifying the origin of substances, though for now it remains only a pilot deployment with a single police department in the US.
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