Estonian startup Fyma raises €1.4M to deliver actionable data to companies using AI, CCTV cameras; here how

Currently, around 770 million CCTV cameras are installed around the world, which is expected to increase to 1 billion by 2021. Aside from security, the majority of the video data remains unused. However, of late, camera-based automated intelligence has become a lot more crucial in ensuring our wellbeing and safety. 

The team behind Estonian startup Fyma (For your motion analytics, formerly Visory) believes there is so much unused valuable data out there that is not being harnessed to create value. Well, guess what? That’s exactly what the Tallinn-based startup is doing. 

Founded by Karen K Burns, and Taavi Tammiste in 2019, Fyma turns any CCTV camera into a smart sensor to deliver actionable insights through its SaaS platform to help companies make better strategic planning decisions. 

Raised €1.4M

Recently, Fyma raised a $1.8M (approx €1.4M) seed round led by Change Ventures. 7 Percent, Decacorn, Lemonade Stand, Tiny VC, existing investor Superangel and a number of angel investors including two former Transferwise executives also participated. With this round, Fyma has raised a total of $2.1M (approx €1.7M). 

“AI is at the core of us being able to turn terabytes of data into actionable insights. We’re aiming to demystify this complex technology and unlock the value currently hidden within existing video footage. We’re making these insights easily accessible to decision-makers in areas ranging from urban planning and commercial real estate to transportation and retail through a self onboarding SaaS platform,” explains Fyma co-founder and CEO Karen K. Burns.

How will the funding be used?

The company will use the funding to double its headcount, fund additional pilot programmes, and to focus on business development. The AI in the computer vision market is estimated to reach $25.32B (approx €20.6B) by 2023, claims the company, indicating considerable headroom for growth in the space.

“The Fyma solution is also a self-learning application. This removes the burden of manually inputting hundreds or thousands of business rules or variables and significantly reduces onboarding times for clients. And as any camera can join our platform and become a sensor on existing infrastructure, the solution is much more scalable and cost-effective,” adds Taavi Tammiste, co-founder and CTO.

Extracts data from video footages

The Estonian company extracts data from video footage through its SaaS platform, enabling clients to understand and contextualise the patterns of movement in individuals, as well as objects like vehicles and machinery. This helps companies in sectors ranging from urban development and commercial real estate to transportation and retail.

Furthermore, Fyma is compliant with existing privacy policies, including GDPR. Notably, its privacy-by-design approach prevents facial recognition, and anonymises all gathered data, protecting the sensitive information. 

According to the company, it takes matters of privacy very seriously and claims that it does not identify subjects on the camera feed. “Fyma takes your visual data security seriously, with industry-leading safeguards and privacy policies that put you in control of what happens to your data,” says Burns. 

​“Companies own their data—it’s our responsibility to keep it secure. Fyma operates secure servers and platform services, and we make it easy for administrators to monitor and manage data security. Our services support compliance with privacy and security requirements,” she adds. 

Working on various use cases

The startup is developing a variety of use cases across multiple industries for its solution. In Dubai, Fyma was used to introduce smart monitoring technologies for counting and information-intelligent analytics of pedestrians and transport ridership behaviours. This was a pilot project done together with the local Road and Transport Authority.

Also, the company is working with a leading shopping centre in the Baltics to understand the impact of covid restrictions on footfall and with Tallinn’s Ülemiste City – to optimise the way their parking lots operate.