GM Funds Spring Labs Blockchain Startup

US-based blockchain startup Spring Labs has raised $23 mln in a Seed A funding round. The automotive giant General Motors (GM) is spotted among the investors for this seed A funding round.

It is expected that Spring Labs will use the funds to improve its blockchain-based platform Spring Protocol and develop three new products that are designed to combat fraud in the auto financing sector. According to the press release of the company, the new products are Spring Verify, Spring Defense, and Spring Protect, which are aimed at identity verification, fraud monitoring/mitigation, and loan stacking prevention, respectively.

Experts estimate that industry suffers from annual losses between $4–$6 bln, largely due to auto credit established with fake ID credentials. Somewhat like a clone firm scam, Spring Labs says that scammers will typically mix in some real information along with the fake, in order to establish falsified credit accounts.

Chief strategy officer at GM Mike KANARIOS commented on GM’s decision to join the project as a partner, saying that the company is “continually innovating and evolving fraud prevention and detection capabilities to better serve and protect our customers and dealers.”

Image courtesy of Jalopnik.com