Spot AI raises $31 million for its AI-based video processing platform

Startup Spot AI Inc. has raised $31 million in new funding to help companies analyze CCTV footage in their businesses.

An investment that was announced today includes contributions from more than half a dozen investors. Among the participants was Qualcomm Ventures. The cash infusion brings the company’s total external funding to $93 million.

Spot AI sells hardware called Intelligent Video Recorder, or IVP, that runs on Nvidia Corp.’s graphics card. It can connect to security cameras at the facility, for example, at a factory, and automatically store footage on onboard drives. According to Spot AI, the IVR stores video for up to 90 days and can back up to the cloud to protect against data loss.

The device additionally comes with cameras. Spot AI offers half a dozen models capable of capturing video indoors, outdoors, and at night. Some cameras can also rotate the lens towards the object of interest and zoom in.

According to Spot AI, its IVR device includes software that automatically detects camera malfunctions. There are also artificial intelligence models that help users more easily view the collected footage.

Searching the video archive for specific events, such as a collision between two forklifts in a warehouse, can take a significant amount of time. The user must identify the place where the interesting event took place, when it happened and the camera that captured it. Spot AI says its artificial intelligence algorithms speed up the task by allowing users to search for clips using natural language prompts instead of manually going through the footage.

The software also promises to save time in other ways. According to Spot AI, users can highlight an object or location in a video and configure its platform to automatically detect relevant events. For example, a factory manager can highlight an area of ​​the factory floor where forklifts are prohibited and have Spot AI detect when the rule is violated.

On the heels of today’s funding announcement, Spot AI has expanded its line of automation features with the addition of Video AI Agents. This allows the company’s platform to not only detect interesting events, but also automatically perform user-defined actions in response.

A manufacturer can use Video AI Agents to detect a robotic arm malfunction and automatically shut it down. Meanwhile, construction companies can configure the platform to detect when workers enter a building without hard hats and activate an alarm. This feature is also suitable for other tasks, such as generating daily reports on the number of vehicles entering the car wash.

The Spot AI platform is used by 1,000 customers in 17 industries. The company claims to have processed billions of hours of footage for these customers since launching in 2020.

Image: Spot AI