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Hakimo announced today it has secured $10.5 million in Series A funding to expand its autonomous security monitoring platform. The Menlo Park-based AI security startup’s round was led by Vertex Ventures and Zigg Capital, with participation from RXR Arden Digital Ventures and existing investors Defy.vc and Gokul Rajaram, bringing the company’s total funding to $20.5 million.
The company’s flagship product, AI Operator — an autonomous security agent that monitors existing security systems, detects threats in real-time, and executes response protocols with minimal human intervention — arrives as the physical security industry struggles with staffing shortages, rising costs, and false alarm fatigue.
“Rising costs and the severe shortage of quality security guards are driving this shift,” explained Sam Joseph, Hakimo’s co-founder and CEO, in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. “Companies save approximately $125,000 per year relative to a guard, so switching to Hakimo is a no-brainer to customers.”
AI security agents that detect any threat describable in words
Unlike conventional security monitoring services, Hakimo combines computer vision with generative AI to create a system that can detect any anomaly or threat that can be described in words.
“Hakimo’s AI Operator continuously ingests live video feeds from existing security cameras and other sensors such as alarm systems and door sensors,” Joseph said. “Our AI Operator is trained to identify anomalies and threats—such as unauthorized personnel, tailgating, loitering, intrusion into restricted zones, or unusual behaviors.”
When the system detects a potential threat, it reasons through pre-programmed response protocols, issues real-time audio warnings through on-site speakers, and escalates to human operators only when necessary. This multi-layered approach allows for comprehensive security coverage at a fraction of the cost of traditional guard services.
The system’s ability to work with existing hardware serves as another differentiator. “Companies can deploy Hakimo in just minutes, directly integrating with their existing cameras and hardware—no new infrastructure required,” Joseph explained.
How 24/7 AI monitoring outperforms traditional security guards
Hakimo’s growth addresses significant challenges facing traditional security approaches, including police departments declining to respond to unverified alarms and a labor crisis in the manned guarding industry.
“A guard physically cannot be at all places at all times, especially at places like campuses and large warehouses or even car dealerships,” Joseph said. “Hakimo, on the other hand, monitors cameras giving complete 100% coverage as long as there are enough cameras present at the site.”
The CEO highlighted additional advantages: “Guards have to take mandatory breaks during their shifts whereas Hakimo’s AI Operator never takes breaks. Liability risk: Guards have a high risk of getting injured on the job, which causes a huge liability risk. Hakimo, with no on-site human presence, has no such risk whatsoever.”
The company has tripled its customer base over the past year, now serving more than 100 clients across industries including multifamily apartments, car dealerships, construction sites, and Fortune 500 enterprises. In 2024 alone, Hakimo’s technology prevented thousands of security incidents, assisted law enforcement in multiple arrests, and even saved a life.
“Our AI Operator detected a person collapsing on-site in the middle of the night with no one around. It was then escalated to our human operators who immediately dispatched emergency services (911), ultimately saving the individual’s life,” Joseph explained.
Why investors are betting millions on AI-powered physical security
The investment in Hakimo reflects growing recognition that physical security requires technological reinvention as traditional approaches like guard services and alarm monitoring increasingly appear antiquated and cost-prohibitive.
With the new funding, Joseph plans to “expand and enhance our AI platform capabilities and scale operations to new markets and industries.” The company targets businesses across multiple sectors that need efficient physical security solutions.
“Any business needing protection for physical assets or people benefits significantly, especially property management, car dealerships, construction sites, and campuses,” Joseph said, citing examples including a car dealership that eliminated monthly break-ins, a high-rise apartment building that saved nearly a million dollars on security guard spending, and a student housing property that saw incidents drop by 90% while reducing security costs to a third of traditional expenses.
Creating the universal platform for intelligent video monitoring
Hakimo was founded in early 2020 by Sam Joseph and Sagar Honnungar, both Stanford-trained AI experts with backgrounds in enterprise SaaS. They identified converging trends: exploding camera deployments, falling hardware costs, and rapid advances in computer vision.
Their vision extends beyond current applications: “In five years, Hakimo aims to become the universal platform for intelligent video monitoring and understanding, effectively creating and leading a new category within the physical security industry,” Joseph said.
As AI continues to advance, Hakimo’s approach may offer a preview of how intelligent systems will increasingly augment — and in some cases replace — human workers in security and beyond.
“Our vision is that Hakimo will be the platform for all kinds of video monitoring,” Joseph said. “Anyone should be able to connect any camera to Hakimo and say ‘look out for X and do Y when you see X happening.’”
