LONDON: Sure Ventures is a London listed venture capital fund which invests in early-stage software companies in the rapidly growing technology areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (‘AR’), Virtual Reality (‘VR’) and the Internet of Things (‘IoT’). “We are pleased to announce a new investment via its exposure to Sure Valley Ventures UK Software Technology Fund,” a statement said.
The Sure Valley team has led a £1.5 million funding round for Vizgard, a cutting-edge AI company specialising in distributed AI solutions for defence and public safety applications.
This funding will accelerate Vizgard’s ambition to enhance camera-based systems’ capabilities through its proprietary FortifAI software platform. The funding round also included participation from Midwich Ignite and Focal.
Vizgard’s FortifAI platform is able to leverage low-power, commercially available processors to enhance systems such as security cameras, counter-drone technologies, and unmanned vehicles.
By combining traditional computer vision with advanced Deep Learning models, FortifAI offers precise, real-time threat identification, automatic camera control, and privacy-preserving features like face blurring.
Founded in 2021 by former Royal Navy submariner Alex Kehoe, Vizgard addresses critical gaps in defence AI implementation, as highlighted by the House of Commons Defence Committee.
The company has secured significant contracts from the Ministry of Defence, HMGCC Co-Creation, several leading defence technology companies and a major UK transport organisation. Vizgard’s customers include Sesanti, a leading British camera manufacturer and multiple national-remit police departments. The company is also part of a 12m Innovation UL consortium.
Director Gareth Burchell said, “This looks like another high-quality AI software company, identified by the Sure Valley Ventures team, that plays into the AI plan announced by the UK Government on the 13th of January. The experience of the founder, the organisations and Businesses they are working with and the scale of the opportunity is exactly what our shareholders are looking for”.
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