Athena Security targets 10x jump in revenue
ATHENA SECURITY TARGETS 10X REVENUE JUMP IN WAKE OF FUNDING ROUND
TIM LEEMASTER
Athena Security, the Austin, Texas-based security camera company using AI, is targeting a 10x jump in revenue in the wake of its seed funding, said Chris Ciabarra, co-founder and chief technology officer.
It currently generates about USD 1.2m in annual revenue from the about 1000 security cameras it operates at USD 100 a month, Ciabarra said.
Athena is targeting schools, corporations and places of worship. Schools take about 100 cameras while some company sites can take as many as 1,000, the CTO said.
Ciabarra said he expects Athena to hit the USD 10m annual revenue target by the end of the first quarter next year.
The company, which was started last year, uses a two-step weapons authentication process, with highly proprietary algorithms at the second step, according to Ciabarra. A human acts as a third check before police are called, if that is part of the operating contract.
The startup said in June it had raised USD 5.5m in a seed round led by Pathfinder, the angel investment arm of San Francisco-based Founders Fund. The fund is focused on what it calls revolutionary technologies.
The new funds will be used to hire engineers to build out new product features, the company said at the time.
Ciabarra said the company plans to hire about 10 new engineers by this time next year and are looking for staff that are experienced at scaling a startup, action, object detection and computer vision. The company currently employs 24 people.
Athena switched to actors to train its systems instead of using film footage to produce the most realistic scenarios, Ciabara said.
Athena is Ciabarra’s third startup. He founded Network Intercept, a cybersecurity firm, and Revel Systems, a point-of-sale payments company with Athena co-founder Lisa Falzone.
In related security finance news Eye on A.I. has tracked, Ontic Technologies, the Austin, Texas-based security services firm using AI, said it raised USD 4.65m in a seed financing led by Silverton Partners in January. The company is developing technology to predict violence.
Virtual Halo, the Peoria, Illinois-based security services firm using AI, said in March it acquired Belgian security app maker Safon.
VIQ Solutions, the Toronto, Canada-based security firm using AI, said in December it acquired Net Transcripts, which provides documentation services to law enforcement, for USD 6.8m in cash.
The acquisition was funded through a USD 11.5m credit facility and the sale of USD 6.5m convertible five-year debentures. VIQ captures video and audio feeds for analysis. VIQ hired Susan Sumner as COO in September.