Capy replaces Captcha gibberish with puzzles that any human can solve – but computers can’t (#StartupAsia Arena)

You know how occasionally, when you try to log into something, you end up with a Captcha that looks more like a Rorschach test than something using the Roman alphabet? Well, Tokyo-based startup Capy is hoping to replace Captcha as a clearer – and more secure – alternative.

On top of sometimes displaying utter gibberish, Captcha doesn’t always pass the Turing test. It can be automatically solved by third-party software like the Rumola Chrome plugin. Mitsuo Okada, Capy’s founder and CEO, claims that his gamified Captcha puzzles have never been beaten by a computer program.

How does Capy differ from standard text Captchas? First of all, Capy uses four kinds of tests: puzzle, freestyle puzzle, text, and text without Javascript. “Puzzle” generates an image with a missing puzzle piece – simply click and drag the missing piece from beneath the image and drop it in place. “Freestyle puzzle” replaces the puzzle piece with a different shape – a demo on Capy’s website replaces the puzzle piece with a cut-out sheep, for example. Text and text without Javascript place text on a darkened image – but it remains legible, without standard Captcha-style stretching.

According to Okada, approximately 10 percent of Captcha users give up, creating the potential for huge losses in revenue. Capy users, on the other hand, give up less than two percent of the time. The company makes money by using advertisements as puzzle images. Companies can alternatively pay to have their own images displayed.

See: Capy aims to be a billion-dollar company (and potentially it can)

Capy has received attention from some big players in the domestic startup ecosystem, most notably JAFCO, Deloitte, and Japanese-American serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist William Saito. Earlier this year, the company also won first prize in a pitch contest to Estonia’s tech-loving president.

The judges have their say

Judges seemed generally interested in Capy’s Captcha alternative. However, David Milstein, head of Japan at Fidelity Growth Partners Japan, said that advances in technology – such as dual encryption – could render Capy unnecessary.

Shinji Asada, director of Itochu Technology Ventures, shared Milstein’s sentiment. “How will you adopt to thumb scanners, iris scanners, and other kinds of biometric security?” he asked. Okada insisted that front end services will always need something like Capy.

When asked how much money he anticipated making in Japan, Okada said US$3 million. Asada pointed out that, according to his Arena materials, Capy was looking to raise US$5-8 million and said that Okada should aim higher.

“We’re already getting profitable, so we don’t need much money,” Okada said.