In 2018, appliance conglomerate Bosch created a startup, Security and Safety Things (or "SAST" for short), whose stated mission was to develop a platform to help developers create software for AI-equipped cameras. SAST was to host a moderated, vetted "app store" for internet-connected cameras that would allow developers to build software on an open standard -- software mainly focused on security and "business intelligence" use cases. SAST successfully launched the app store in 2020, later rebranding it (and itself) to Azena and opening a headquarters in Pittsburgh's Strip District. But after tens of millions of euros in investment from Bosch, SAST -- now Azena -- apparently never quite achieved the success that its parent company hoped it would. TechCrunch has learned that Azena is shutting down its external operations and pivoting to internal projects at Bosch.

The bizarre promotional video promises "Face analysis based on best of breed Artificial Intelligence algorithms for Business Intelligence and Digital Signage applications." What follows is footage of a woman pushing her hair behind her ears, a man grimacing and baring his teeth, and an actor in a pinstripe suit being slapped in the face against a green screen. Digitally overlayed on each person's face are colored outlines of rectangles with supposed measurements displayed: "F 25 happiness," "caucasian_latin," "M 38 sadness." The commercial reel advertises just one of the many video analytics tools available for download on an app store monitored by the Internet of Things startup Azena, itself a project from the German kitchen appliance maker Bosch. Bosch, known more for its line of refrigerators, ovens, and dishwashers, also develops and sells an entire suite of surveillance cameras.