Face recognition is one of the most antagonistic applications of artificial intelligence in the wider world: the use of computer approaches to identify the face and its subsequent people has raised numerous questions about privacy, data protection and work ethic, and even the systems themselves.
On the other hand, it is being widely used in various fields. Now one of the most controversial, but successful, start-ups on the field has closed a huge round of funding. Anvision – an Israeli startup that has created AI-based strategies with the help of people’s mouths, but also raised $235 million in related technology such as temperature verification to detect high temperatures in crowds, the agency confirmed.
This Series C, one of the largest cycles of AI startups, is co-led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2 and Eldridge Industries, with the participation of previous investors. (They don’t have names, but the list includes Robert Bosch GmbH, Qualcomm Ventures and Lightspeed.) The company is not disclosing its valuation, but we are asking.
However, according to Pitchbook, this would be a huge boost for the company, which had previously raised about $116 million and had built up a large list of customers since its last point in 2020. Aven Golan, CEO of Anvision, is a former operating partner of Softbank’s investment force. Anvision says the funds will be used to continue developing its SDK, especially to work on edge computing devices – smart cameras, body cameras, and chips used in other devices – to increase the efficiency and speed of its systems.
Its systems, meanwhile, are used in video surveillance, watchlist alerts and situations where an organization’s crowd is monitored and controlled, for example by monitoring numbers, analyzing while in a retail environment or behaving to flag illegal or dangerous. “Acknowledgment AI’s innovative innovations have helped transform passive cameras into active security systems, and empowered companies have a more holistic approach to advanced security threats,” Golan said in a statement announcing the investment. “The Access Point AI platform is designed to protect people, space, and privacy while simultaneously reducing costs, power, bandwidth, and operational complexity.”
