VEREFY, a project developed by INESC-ID students, was awarded the António Brandão de Vasconcelos award during the Lab2Market at Técnico!

Developed by PhD student Filipe Altoe, master’s student Sérgio Pinto and INESC-ID researcher Sofia Pinto, this AI model can antecipate which narratives have the potential to go viral and verify the accuracy of the information they convey. In contrast to most existing platforms, which monitor stories that are already circulating, VEREFY provides information professionals with a window of opportunity to fact-check content beforehand. According to Filipe Altoe, “Misinformation and misleading narratives have become major short‑term global risks, as identified by the World Economic Forum, affecting reputation, markets, and public trust. By anticipating these dynamics rather than reacting to them, society is better positioned to protect itself.”

“VEREFY is an excellent example of the societal potencial of INESC-ID research results. We expect many more of these entrepreneurship projects to emerge in the near future.” adds INESC-ID’s Knowledge Transfer Manager, Sandra Aresta, who was present during the event.

Participating in Lab2Market provided both students with an opportunity to confront research in the real world, showing the importance of talking to potential users and understanding the problem from their perspective. It also allowed them to learn how to translate scientific rigor into practical value by listening to the market, communicating clearly, and shaping an academic concept into a proposal with its own identity. Receiving the award reinforced the research’s relevance beyond the academic environment and represented a turning point for the project. “It reinforces credibility with partners and potential users, validates the direction we have chosen and gives us a boost for the next phase. It was important to win not for the prize itself, but for what it confirms: that it is possible to develop in Portugal an application with potential for global social impact”, concludes Filipe Altoe.

Lab2Market is a startup acceleration programme organised by Instituto Superior Técnico, in collaboration with NTT DATA and i-Deals, which aims to showcase technologies developed at Técnico with the potential to generate value.

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Image: © Direção de Transferência de Tecnologia do Instituto Superior Técnico