Spot AI, a video AI startup creating safer workplaces and smarter operations for every organisation, has $31 million in new equity funding. With this, the total funding raised by the company accounts for $93 million.
The latest round saw new investor Qualcomm Ventures participate alongside existing investors Scale Venture Partners, StepStone Group, Redpoint Ventures (which recently backed Trunk Tools and Leya) and Bessemer Venture Partners (which invested in Apron and Chemistry VC). The round also saw participation from GSBackers, MVP Ventures, and Cheyenne Ventures.
Launches video AI agents
In addition to the funding, Spot AI has announced the launch of its Video AI Agents, bringing agentic AI capabilities from the digital to the physical world. It helps organisations instantly surface and resolve incidents across safety, security, and operations, delivering measurable ROI across manufacturing, education, retail, and auto services.
It not only flags issues or triggers of concern but also makes decisions directly in the customers’ workplaces. Video AI Agents are now generally available to all Spot AI customers.
How was the idea born?
Spot AI was founded in 2018 when three friends from Stanford University—Tanuj Thapliyal, Rish Gupta, and Sud Bhatija asked a simple question, “Why isn’t video footage more widely used in businesses?” They started the company with a vision of building a new category of video apps that will become crucial to the way modern businesses operate.
AI-powered surveillance systems
Until recently, video surveillance systems were limited to passive recording, basic search, and manual collaboration. Now, Video AI Agents transform cameras from passive observers into proactive problem solvers that can autonomously identify issues and trigger responses without human intervention. Examples include alerting key stakeholders, delivering analytics, activating lights and sounds, playing voice messages, triggering machine starts and stops if an incident or injury happens, or improving load and unload times in throughput-based businesses.
Transforming passive video security cameras into AI Camera Systems and Video AI Agents, Spot AI helps organisations unlock the value of their video data to drive tangible outcomes.
The company serves 1000+ customers in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and schools to improve safety, reduce operational bottlenecks, boost productivity and revenue, and actively deter crime.
Cameras to video AI agents
As major players like Apple, Meta, and OpenAI race to develop solutions in video AI and physical world applications, Spot AI is at the intersection of these frontiers in building agentic workflows. With the cost of camera sensors decreasing, the company is turning high-quality video into a more accessible and ubiquitous data source.
Its open system allows businesses to harness the power of their existing video footage regardless of the vendor, positioning Spot AI as the intelligence layer that turns any camera into a Video AI Agent.
The Video AI platform connects not only with industry-specific technologies but also sensors, hardware, and operating systems, allowing the company to see and understand the physical world and to automatically take action.
“We’re excited to invest in Spot AI as they execute on their mission to transform video signals into a powerful tool for industries around the globe,” said Tushar Gupta, Senior Director, Qualcomm Ventures at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Spot AI’s solutions help businesses quickly generate insights from their customers’ video feeds, turning them into a valuable resource that improves safety, security, and day-to-day operations. This closely aligns with Qualcomm’s vision of implementing AI on edge to solve real-world challenges.”
Cornel Stewart, an engineer at industrial foam manufacturer Elite Comfort Solutions, stated: “Spot AI led us from having a video surveillance system to fully leveraging video AI to drive business results. Not only have we seen a reduction in injuries and incidents, but the system’s ability to identify potential hazards has allowed us to address issues before they escalate. It’s like having an extra set of expert eyes monitoring our facility 24/7.”
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