Spot AI raises $40M to build smarter CCTV security camera tech

CCTV and other kinds of security cameras have a strong Big Brother vibe, but for many of us that may be because we don't really understand or know how the footage they pick up ever gets used. Today, a startup called Spot AI that's built a system to help answer that question at least in part -- it provides a cloud-based analytics system that "reads" that footage to get insights about not just security, but also safety and operational activity -- is announcing $40 million in funding to grow. Scale Venture Partners is leading the round, with past backers Redpoint Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and new investors StepStone Group and Modern Venture Partners also investing. This brings the total raised by Spot AI to $62 million. Spot AI, appropriately for a security camera company, existed in stealth for years before it came out into the public in 2021: at that point it had already raised $22 million.