Agent Vi, an Israel-based video analytics technology provider, has raised $6m in a financing round led by tech conglomerate Kuang-Chi through its KuangChi Science unit, Globes has reported.
The round also featured data communications provider Motorola Solutions, which invested through its Motorola Solutions Venture Capital subsidiary. KuangChi Science committed $4.3m from the $300m smart city-focused Global Community of Innovation fund it launched earlier this year.
Founded in 2003, Agent Vi provides technology that turns surveillance cameras into smart sensors capable of automatically analysing and searching large volumes of video for events of interest without user intervention, reducing the labour cost of monitoring security footage.
The company’s software is used in multiple industries, including critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and transport hubs and highways. The proceeds will be used to expand Agent Vi’s engineering, sales and management teams as it prepares to set up local offices in China, Southeast Asia and Europe.
Kuang-Chi chairman Dr. Ruopeng Liu said in a statement that the group would look to help Agent Vi expand into smart city projects across the Asian region.
Itsik Kattan, Agent Vi’s chief executive, said: “Agent Vi has gained a foothold in China and found an important partner in Kuang-Chi, a company that is creating next generation technologies with broad applications for the future of cities.”
Motorola Solutions Venture Capital and investment firm Indigo Strategic Partners co-led a 2012 round of undisclosed size for Agent Vi in 2012. The company had raised a total of $18m from VC firm 21Ventures as of a $9m series B investment in 2009.