U.S.-based brand protection and investigations firm Signa Techlaw Corp. has entered the Indian market, marking its first expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 2023 by Daniel Estrada and Andrés Argoti, the company combines artificial intelligence with investigative expertise to detect counterfeit products, unauthorized sellers, and illicit trade networks across digital and physical marketplaces.

Industry reports have consistently identified China, India, and Turkey as some of the world’s largest sources of counterfeit goods, underlining the scale of the global challenge

Mr. Estrada, who has served as a reserve police lieutenant attached to crime investigations and Interpol, aims to position Signa as a technology-driven platform supporting international organizations in tackling illicit trade originating from these regions.

“The problem is no longer limited to luxury goods or fashion accessories. Counterfeit medicines, cosmetics, food items, and alcoholic beverages are increasingly reaching consumers, posing significant risks to public health and safety,” said Daniel Estrada, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Signa in an interview.

“Today, the largest counterfeit marketplace is no longer a traditional street market—it is online. As consumers increasingly shop digitally, counterfeiters have followed them,” he emphasised.

India’s counterfeit trade is rapidly shifting to digital platforms, with e-commerce websites and social media emerging as key distribution channels, he added.

According to the ASPA-CRISIL State of Counterfeiting in India 2025 report, online platforms account for 53% of counterfeit purchases, while nearly 89% of urban Indian consumers have unknowingly or knowingly purchased counterfeit products at least once.

Signa’s technology platform collects intelligence including seller identities, payment information, phone numbers, and location data to assist investigations and enforcement agencies. 

The company is currently working with more than 32 brands across 12 countries and has identified counterfeit products worth over $150 million globally, and has supported enforcement actions safeguarding products valued at more than $40 million, it said.

With India’s digital economy expanding rapidly and online shopping becoming mainstream, brand protection is expected to become an even greater priority for businesses.

Signa plans to initially focus on sectors such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, cosmetics, food, and beverages, where counterfeit products can have serious consequences for consumer safety.
Later on it will foray into garments and lifestyle segments.

The company is already supporting global clients including Procter & Gamble, Roche, Diageo, and several multinational pharmaceutical and spirits companies operating in India.

It is also collaborating with investigators, law firms, and enforcement authorities while strengthening its local presence. 
Additionally, Signa is developing a WhatsApp-based verification tool that will enable consumers and authorities to authenticate products simply by sharing a photograph.

“As counterfeit trade continues to migrate online, businesses and regulators must move beyond removing fake listings and focus on identifying and dismantling the criminal networks driving the trade,” Mr. Estrada said. 

The company’s infrastructure runs on AWS, where it uses Amazon DynamoDB as its primary operational database and event-driven serverless services to process millions of data points efficiently.

“On the AI side, we leverage OpenAI’s models together with our own proprietary detection and investigation pipelines to identify counterfeit products, analyze evidence, and automate complex enforcement workflows across marketplaces, social media, and the open web,” said Andrés Argoti, co-founder, Signa in the interview.

“We also use OpenSearch for large scale search and analytics, enabling investigators to quickly query and correlate evidence across millions of records. Our frontend is built with modern web technologies, while our backend follows a scalable, API-first architecture designed for enterprise customers,” he said.

“More importantly, AI is not just part of our product, it’s part of how we operate. We use AI throughout engineering, operations, investigations, and customer success, allowing a lean team to deliver enterprise scale impact,” he added.