AI-informed physical security platform Hakimo has landed $4m in seed round financing as it looks to bring cyber-like tools to the workplace.
The round was backed by defy.vc, Firebolt ventures and angel investors such as Stanford University professor Sachin Katti, Prasanna Srikhanta and Ameet Patel.
Hakimo has developed an AI platform that is looking to bring cybersecurity-like tools to the physical security space at a key time as many workers return to the office with a growing need for new security solutions.
With the pandemic and its effects still looming large globally, many workforces who are returning to the office will need assurances that their physical health and security can be best protected by their employers.
To help manage this challenge, Hakimo’s technology brings in data from multiple unconnected systems such as security cameras and badge readers and applies computer vision and data analytics techniques on top to enable companies to easily identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.
The company noted a key security vulnerability it is following is when a person sneaks in behind another individual after they had presented their badge to a door system. Hakimo uses computer vision to analyse camera footage corresponding to every badge event and correlates that with badging data to raise alerts in real time, adding that it goes a step further and provides ways to bring about behaviour change in employees through automated email alerts and gamification tools.
Hakimo claims it already has deployments at multiple well-known companies and has analysed over half a million security events to date.
Hakimo CEO and co-founder Sam Joseph said, “Cybersecurity systems used to generate massive numbers of events that a human analyst could not handle. Systems like SIEM and Security Orchestration and Response (SOAR) emerged to help manage and respond to those alerts and incidents. Physical security has now reached a point where it requires the same types of tools.
“Employees need to recognize that the flow of people through the building is different now and that they play a role in its security. Learning that someone snuck in behind you today and seeing that data tied to your badge can trigger a higher level of vigilance as you badge in tomorrow. Hakimo is unique because it can integrate with legacy enterprise systems a company has in place without having to install any new hardware. Its broad suite of integrations which makes deployments easy and fast.
“Corporate focus has long been on cybersecurity and protection of data. As cybersecurity professionals now focus on operational technology as a gateway for hacks and data loss (such as the incident at NASA JPL caused by a Raspberry Pi), protecting physical infrastructure from unauthorised entry becomes equally important. That’s what Hakimo does. AI provides the analysis so that human intelligence can make necessary changes to keep the enterprise safe.”
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