A $2 million round of funding was secured by Spot Technologies, an AI firm based in El Salvador. A Chilean firm is working on cloud technology to transform security and behavior-tracking cameras in warehouses and retail stores into an intelligent system. Femsa Ventures, Bridge Latam, Daedalus, Kuiper, and Casque were all members of the investor group that took part in the round.
To improve the video surveillance market, co-founder and CEO Julio Abrego and his team established the company in 2018 for the development of computer vision models, algorithms, and modules, as Abrego informed TechCrunch via email.
Using computer vision and deep learning technology, Spot’s core product, VisionX, analyzes customer and theft activities. Afterward, it offers more sophisticated features, such as the ability to analyze gender and age, count individuals, detect undesignated locations, identify crowd formations, and analyze specific regions.
Abrego sees companies like SenseTime, BriefCam, AdMobilize, and DeepView as rivals in this field. But there are a few ways in which Spot’s VisionX technology varies, according to him. One is adaptability and modularity, which Abrego compared to assembling Legos so that video analysis modules may be easily and flexibly integrated. We also have detection.
“Spot focuses on transforming existing cameras in supermarkets into advanced tools for detecting consumer behaviors and preventing thefts,” explained Abrego. “This dual functionality of security and consumer behavior analysis is unique and provides significant added value to customers.”
Spot plans to use the extra funding to build up VisionX 2.0, which is set to be released this year. Analysis of purchasing habits, detection of aggressive acts, detection of little thefts, and thefts from self-checkout lanes will all be part of it.
Walmart, one of Spot’s major clients, has installed VisionX in 450 of its Chilean stores and distribution hubs to improve dispatch procedures by, among other things, counting and tracking pallets.
In 2024, Walmart intends to use the VisionX system in both its Chilean and Mexican operations. Also, Spot is in talks to have VisionX installed in more than 21,000 Oxxo convenience stores in Latin America. Oxxo is a Mexican chain.
Theft and human behavior detection are two of the additional functionalities that Abrego announced as being part of their SaaS platform. Similarly, we have gone from nine programmers to thirty, and our roadmap calls for us to grow to fifty in the future, all related to talent acquisition. Major customers like Walmart, along with Mercado Libre, are fueling this expansion.
