Founded in 2022 by two veterans of the insurance world, Guillaume Laurent (President) and Nicolas Chabauty (CEO), Certificall has quickly positioned itself as a trusted third party for digital visual evidence. The Toulouse-based startup helps insurers, brokers, and large industrial groups certify photos and videos in real time, ensuring they are legally admissible across the EU.
In two years, the company has grown to a team of eight, serving over 150 major clients and 20,000 users, including heavyweight names such as Groupama and Eiffage Énergies. With more than three million photos already certified, Certificall is carving out a niche at the crossroads of technology, trust, and regulation.
How It Works: Turning Images into a Legal Shield
Certificall transforms a simple photo or video into certified digital evidence in under 90 seconds. Users capture images directly through Certificall’s mobile app, which instantly verifies and seals the files with four key security pillars:
- Geolocation
- A tamper-proof certificate
- Qualified time-stamping
- An eIDAS-compliant electronic signature seal
All data is stored securely on French sovereign servers for ten years, guaranteeing full traceability and compliance with EU regulations. The solution is built to ensure that every piece of digital proof – from a construction photo to an insurance claim video – is legally robust and fraud-resistant.
“Over the past two years, generative AI has made it possible for anyone to manipulate images,” Laurent said. “Our mission is to block fraud at the source. With Certificall, every photo or video becomes reliable, verifiable proof from the moment it’s taken.”
Stopping Fraud Before It Starts
Insurance fraud costs France nearly €900 million each year, equivalent to 5% of property and casualty insurance premiums, according to the French Insurance Fraud Prevention Agency. The number has surged in the past two years, largely due to the ease of AI-based image manipulation.
Where changing images once required skill and Photoshop, today’s tools make it effortless for anyone to fake insurance evidence. According to Certificall, there has been a 30% increase in insurance fraud in the past two years alone. Its solution addresses this directly by making digital evidence tamper-proof at capture.
The company’s first markets are insurance, construction (BTP), e-commerce, and transport. These are all sectors where false visual declarations can cost millions.
In the energy renovation sector, for instance, companies would claim subsidies for energy-efficient installations that never happened. Certificall’s certified photo process ensures that each renovation project is backed by geo-located, timestamped visual proof. In construction, it enables property owners and insurers to document “before and after” states of buildings, preventing costly disputes over alleged damage.
The Business Play: B2B, Fast ROI, and a Significant Drop in Fraud
Certificall operates on a B2B model, licensing its certification technology to enterprises. Clients integrate Certificall’s photo-taking and certifying app into their customers' journeys during insurance policy subscription and then later if they need to make a claim.
The company’s founders believe this model offers a rapid ROI: certified evidence drastically reduces fraudulent claims and cuts operational costs. In some cases, insurance clients have reported fewer claim declarations simply because the requirement for certified photos discourages false reporting.
Growth Trajectory
Growing over 30% month-on-month in recent quarters, Certificall expects to reach break-even within nine months.
Its recent €1 million seed round, led by Tomcat, Groupama, and InsurAngels, aims to strengthen the company’s technological foundations and accelerate its European expansion.
“We were impressed by the founding team’s complementary skills and dedication,” said Tomcat CEO, Jeremy Pouyer, in a recent press statement. “They combine strategic vision with operational excellence. This fundraising will enable Certificall to become the European benchmark for digital proof in insurance.”
The team plans to grow by hiring four to five new tech and product specialists over the coming months.
Competitively, Certificall says it stays ahead of players like WeProov or NoContest, which focus more on B2C markets or niche verticals. By contrast, Certificall’s B2B positioning and eIDAS compliance give it both scalability and legal robustness across sectors and borders.
Riding the Regulation Wave
Certificall’s tech is timely, with European eIDAS regulation (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services), which came into effect between 2016- 2018 sets the standards for digital signatures and trust services across the EU. It ensures that certified digital proofs have legal validity throughout Europe, providing certified trust solutions like Certificall with instant access to a 27-country market.
By 2030, the EU aims for 80% of citizens – roughly 360 million people – to have a digital identity wallet. This shift will multiply demand for secure, verified digital documents. Certificall’s founders see this as a major growth lever.
“The digitization of customer journeys and eIDAS compliance are key priorities for European companies,” explained Chabauty. “Our technology guarantees that certified photos and videos are tamper-proof and legally valid, no matter the country.”
Looking Ahead: Beyond Fraud, Toward Digital Trust
Looking ahead, Certificall plans to expand beyond fraud prevention into document analysis and broader digital trust services, leveraging the upcoming eIDAS 2.0 framework.
Financially, the company plans to manage growth prudently, preferring to grow the company responsibly, as the French saying goes, “en bon père de famille,” rather than rushing into another fundraising round.
The founders also envision new use cases, including in art and intellectual property law, where certified digital evidence can prove the precedence of creative works. The startup is already working with intellectual property lawyers who use Certificall to timestamp creative ideas before they’re made public.
While the team has begun exploring markets in Spain and Eastern Europe, they don’t plan to open local offices yet. Instead, partnerships – notably with Orange Business – are enabling Certificall to scale within its existing infrastructure.
Over time, the co-founders said their ambition is to make Certificall the European reference for certified digital proof.
