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Computer vision start-up Fyma uses AI video detection to turn legacy CCTV cameras into smart sensors.
Tallinn-based start-up Fyma hopes to turn new and legacy outdoor and CCTV cameras into smart devices that can capture real-time data and turn it into actionable insights. Today (17 December), the company announced that it has closed a $1.8m seed round to help with that goal.
The funding round was led by Change Ventures, while other participants included Decacorn, Tiny VC, 7 Percent and a number of angel investors. The seed round brings the total funding raised by Fyma to $2.1m.
According to a report from IHS Markit last year, there are more than 770m CCTV cameras installed around the world, a figure that is set to exceed 1bn by next year. Aside from reviewing footage for security purposes, these devices produce huge amounts of video footage that largely goes unused.
Founded in 2019, Fyma aims to change this by using AI to extract and analyse valuable data from live video footage. This could enable users to understand and contextualise the patterns of movement in individuals, such as pedestrians and shoppers, as well as objects such as vehicles and machinery.
According to the company, the platform is also self-learning, which can remove the burden of manually inputting various rules or variables.
It also said its platform is compliant with existing privacy policies including GDPR as its privacy-by-design approach prevents facial recognition, anonymising all gathered data and protecting sensitive information obtained from any given number of video sources.
Making insights accessible
Fyma’s CEO, Karen Burns, said AI is at the core of turning terabytes of data into actionable insights. “We’re aiming to demystify this complex technology and unlock value currently hidden within existing video footage,” she said.
“We’re making these insights easily accessible to decision-makers in areas ranging from urban planning and commercial real estate to transportation and retail through a self-onboarding SaaS platform.”
The start-up is developing a variety of use cases across multiple industries for its platform, such as understanding the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on footfall in a shopping centre in order to make better use of common areas. It’s also working with Ülemiste City, a busy business park in Tallinn, to optimise the way its car parks operate.
Fyma will use its latest funding to double its headcount, fund additional pilot programmes to help evaluate where it can make the biggest impact and to focus on business development.
