Latest news with #Hakimo
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AI is taking a bite out of crime on Eastside construction project
This story was originally published on Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days; it's even being used to provide security on one of the biggest job sites in Western Washington. So, how is 'Big Brother' being used to combat theft, vandalism, and damage in construction zones? Boots on the ground weren't cutting it anymore for global construction and development firm Skanska, especially when it had a seven-mile-long construction zone at I-405 and State Route 522 (SR 522) in Bothell/Woodinville. Skanska's project superintendent, Scott Turner, told me that a traditional security guard for a project this big didn't make sense. 'We have found that that is not very helpful these days,' he said. 'Usually our security guard is asleep, or doesn't show up, or isn't actually monitoring the site, as they're being paid to do.' Construction sites and companies have become prime targets for thieves and vandals. They can slip into job sites unnoticed and make off with just about anything. 'We've had trucks show up missing,' Turner said. 'They will also break into our conex boxes and steal whatever tools they can carry.' Wiring. Supplies. Vandalism. Turner said the company has looked for other ways to monitor their site and deter crime. That's when he found Sam Joseph, the co-founder and CEO of Hakimo, a remote security firm in Silicon Valley, who uses AI to augment or replace traditional guards. Hakimo sets up the cameras, and AI watches for anomalies. 'Cameras are like eyes, and then AI is like a brain for those eyes,' Joseph said. 'AI now enables cameras to understand what's happening in front of them.' Hakimo's cameras can detect someone in the yard or climbing a fence, and the AI will respond. It can give a recorded voice to that intruder to scare them away. It can send an alert to the company or a monitoring facility for more action. 'The AI detects that and then escalates it to a real human operator, who can then call Scott or someone on site, or if it's something really serious, call law enforcement directly,' Joseph said. AI can be faster and more efficient than security guards. 'That's why we call our offering remote guarding,' Joseph said. 'It's providing what a guard can provide, but remotely at a fraction of the cost.' For Turner and Skanska, the 15-camera system being used at this eastside project is working so far. 'It has seemed to work,' he said. 'We haven't caught anybody because I don't think there's been anybody to catch. The cameras themselves are quite a good deterrent.' Just a reminder of what Skanska and the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) are doing at this location, it is widening the freeway to add a second express toll lane from where it ends at SR 522 to Canyon Park at State Route 527 (SR 527). There are new ramps and new access to support bus rapid transit. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028. Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.
Forbes
27-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Intruder Alert: Why Hakimo Thinks AI Is The Future Of Security
Hakimo founders Sam Joseph and Sagar Honnungar Hakimo The video shows two young men breaking into a school basketball court, ignoring warnings that they are trespassing played out over loudspeakers. Within minutes, two security guards arrive to escort them off the premises. It's a recording of real-life scene that you can watch for yourself on the social media feed of San Francisco-based start-up Hakimo, which publishes regular 'Catch of the Week' videos to highlight its artificial intelligence-powered remote security technology. 'We offer all the benefits of an onsite security guard at a fraction of the cost,' says Sam Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Hakimo, which is today announcing it has raised $10.5 million of new funding. 'Our intelligent AI agent understands and responds to threats like never before.' It could be just the right service at the right time. Across the US, the security industry is reporting huge problems with recruitment. One recent survey found that more than a third of security firms still had not managed to boost staffing to the levels they had at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, in many areas of the country, the perception is that crime rates are rising. In other words, there is more need for security guards at a time when hiring them has got much harder. Hakimo's solution could bridge the gap. The company has developed software that links to the video cameras that many organisations – and some households – have already installed around their premises. Its AI agent can monitor the feed from all those cameras simultaneously and, critically, identify anomalies – in particular, intruders and other threat actors. When such an anomaly is detected, the technology takes action according to agreed protocols. The first step might be to play an audio warning to the trespasser, urging them to leave the scene. The software can also notify onsite security guards of the problem, so that they can investigate. Or it can prompt an intervention from Hakimo's in-house team, which might choose to call the emergency services. 'We can do everything that a physical security guard offers, from deterrence to detection,' adds Joseph. 'We're not trying to replace guards, but they can't be everywhere at the same time; we want to work with them.' Hakimo was founded five years ago by Joseph and Sagar Honnungar, both of whom had been working at Stanford University to develop AI applications that could deliver real-world impact. 'We felt the security sector was one industry where AI in video could make a huge difference.' The first few years of the company's evolution were largely dedicated to developing the product, but Hakimo has begun to take off commercially over the past couple of years. Customer numbers have tripled over the past year alone, with Hakimo's software now in use at more than 100 companies. It targets commercial customers in industries such as car dealerships, manufacturing and real estate – all areas where businesses have valuable assets that intruders and thieves could target. For many of those customers, the technology is having the impact that the founders were aiming for. 'We got a drastic reduction in trespassing right after deploying Hakimo,' says Rodrigo Duran, general manager at Kia Santa Maria, one car dealership using the software. 'I now sleep better at night.' Hakimo's social media videos show the technology in action. But Joseph is proud of the versatility of the software. 'We see the potential for a range of different use cases,' he says. 'Our AI agent has already saved a life, picking up a situation where someone had collapsed so that our team could call 911.' Investors are also excited by the potential of the business. Today's $10.5 million Series A round is led by Vertex Ventures and Zigg Capital with participation from RXR Arden Digital Ventures and existing investors and Gokul Rajaram. It takes the total amount of money raised by the company to $20.5 million. 'Hakimo is bringing ground-up technological innovation to the large but antiquated physical security industry,' says Piyush Kharbanda, general partner of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. 'There is a dire need for innovation, as current solutions lack the speed or accuracy to offer affordable real-time protection for offline businesses.' At Zigg Capital, managing partner Ryan Orley adds: 'Hakimo's solution is more robust and offers better value than any other technology we have encountered.' In practice, pricing is linked to the number of cameras monitored by Hakimo's software. But Joseph says the typical customer is paying a few thousand dollars a month for the service – and that they would pay 10 times as much for a team of security guards offering the same level of protection.
