Steg.AI is a prime example of Rutgers’ commitment to cybersecurity innovation and digital trust.
The startup was founded by double Rutgers graduate Eric Wengrowski and School of Engineering professor Kristin Dana, PhD. The company is based on information security software technology that was developed at Rutgers called light field messaging, which according to Wengrowski is “an advanced forensic water marking technique that adds information to files like images, video, PDFs, GIFs, etc., that is invisible to [people] but visible to [Steg.AI’s] algorithms or even a camera. This information is essentially embedded into these files as forensic tracers.”
Rutgers Office for Research executed the exclusive license between the university and the company.
“Steg.AI’s technology is becoming more important by the day, especially with rise in deepfakes and online mis- and disinformation,” said Deborah Perez Fernandez, PhD, MBA, executive director of the Office for Research’s Technology Transfer department. “Our office has collaborated with Drs. Wengrowski and Dana through the patenting of their technology and the execution of the exclusive license with the company, and we will continue to support the work they are doing.”
“Steg.AI is another example of how Rutgers researchers are addressing the issues of the present as well as the future,” said Vincent Smeraglia, JD, executive director of the OfR’s New Ventures unit. “We look forward to continued collaboration with the company.”
Located in Irvine, California, the company has grown in size and stature since its launch in 2019, with 10 full-time employees. Steg.AI has also expanded the services it offers, including a web application that is “designed to simplify digital content protection,” and the ability of its proprietary forensic watermarking to be used on Adobe Photoshop (.PSD) and Large Document Format (.PSB) files.
The technology behind Steg.AI was recently honored with the Research and Development Council of New Jersey Industrial Processes Edison Patent Award and with the Artificial Intelligence/Digital Innovation Award at the 2024 Rutgers Innovation Awards.
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