Security AI Startup Welcomes New CTO to the Management Team
By Vizgard
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We’re excited to announce that Robin Clark has joined Vizgard’s management team as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 🎉
With 27 years of experience in security technology, Robin has held senior leadership roles across government and industry, driving innovation in mission-critical security systems. His deep expertise in AI, cloud security, and operational technology makes him a perfect fit for our Security AI startup, as we continue to push the boundaries of autonomous security solutions.
Here are just a few highlights from his impressive career:
✅ Interim CTO at Spaceflux 📡 🛰️ Robin played a pivotal role in strengthening cloud security and operational readiness for an SME specialising in AI-powered optical tracking of space debris. His expertise ensured the organisation was well-positioned to scale its technology for real-world applications and mission-critical use cases.
✅ Head of Technology at the UK Home Office 🏛️ ☁️ At the heart of national security operations, Robin led the transformation of legacy policing systems into modern, cloud-based architectures nationwide. His work improved the resilience, scalability, and efficiency of critical government security infrastructure, enhancing law enforcement capabilities.
✅ Director of Software Development at a Counter-Drone SME 🛡️🛫 Robin spearheaded the development of a multi-sensor AI counter-drone solution, which was successfully deployed at major UK airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick. His contributions helped shape an industry standard recognised by NATO and the UK MoD, reinforcing his deep expertise in Security AI and defence technology.
Since joining Vizgard, Robin has already made a significant impact. His leadership, technical vision, and industry experience will be instrumental in driving our Security AI startup forward as we continue to innovate in the autonomous security space.
We’re thrilled to welcome him to the team and look forward to what we can achieve together! 🚀
Vizgard Secures £1.5M to Enhance Defence and Public Safety using Proprietary Distributed AI Technology
Vizgard is at the forefront of AI innovation in the security and defence sectors in the UK, with notable contracts from the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and HMGCC Co-Creation.
London, 22 January 2025 - Vizgard, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) software company, has secured £1.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Sure Valley Ventures (SVV), with participation from Midwich Ignite and Focal.
Vizgard’s FortifAI software platform harnesses low-power, commercially available processors to enhance a broad range of systems, including security cameras, counter-drone technologies, and unmanned vehicles. It provides precise, real-time threat identification and automatic camera control, significantly reducing operator workload. The funding will accelerate Vizgard’s ambition to bridge critical gaps in camera-based Defence and Public Safety systems.
By combining field-proven traditional computer vision with cutting-edge Deep Learning models, FortifAI ensures robust performance in real-world scenarios. The platform also includes Vizgard’s proprietary Behaviour Risk Index algorithm, which calculates a human-explainable danger probability score while automatically blurring faces to protect privacy. This innovation enables automatic alerts for previously unaddressed complex safety events, such as identifying and responding to vulnerable individuals who are being attacked or at risk of self-harm.
Founded in early 2021 by former Royal Navy submariner Alex Kehoe, Vizgard responds to a growing need for reliable AI-powered automation in the Defence sector, where operational demands continue to outpace existing capabilities. A recently published report from the House of Commons Defence Committee highlighted a significant disconnect between the UK’s strategic vision for defence AI and its practical implementation—a gap that Vizgard is determined to help close.
Vizgard has secured notable contracts from the Ministry of Defence, HMGCC Co-Creation, several leading defence technology companies and a major UK transport organisation. Vizgard's customers include Sesanti, a leading British camera manufacturer and multiple national remit police departments. The Company is also part of a £12 million Innovate UK consortium, led by Altitude Angel, developing a 165-mile drone superhighway. The UK Home Office also recently awarded Vizgard a significant contract to develop a portable knife-detection solution powered by its proprietary solution, FortifAI.
The UK has all the ingredients to lead the world in defence AI, but the pace of transitioning from Proof of Concept to deployment is lagging. From the beginning, we focused on developing AI that could deliver the most immediate impact - operating at the edge, within or near moving cameras. Whether on land, in the air, or at sea, this approach ensures systems can react faster, act independently if GPS or communication is lost, and even act collaboratively to provide more actionable feedback. We’re excited to welcome our new investors onboard who are aligned with our mission to fully automate the cameras that protect us, while maintaining public privacy.
Alex Kehoe, CEO and Founder of Vizgard:
Vizgard is tackling the growing need for time-critical visual intelligence and precision camera automation in security and defence solutions. Their technology addresses important AI reliability concerns through a robust ‘systems approach’, identifying threats that would have been missed and allowing stronger performance in new environments. With the rapidly growing demand for AI in Defence and Security, and the team’s deep domain expertise, we believe Vizgard has the potential to become a global leader in AI vision automation.
Brian Kinane, Founding Partner, Sure Valley Ventures
The round was led by specialist AI venture capital firm Sure Valley Ventures (SVV), with participation from Midwich Ignite and Focal. The funding will be used to scale Vizgard’s engineering and business development capabilities and establish international distribution to accelerate growth.
About Vizgard
Vizgard is a veteran-founded and multi-award-winning SME advancing sovereign UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) capability to automate time-critical security and defence optical systems. Their distributed visual AI platform, FortifAI, integrates with existing camera infrastructure, leveraging low-power commercial edge processors to deliver real-time threat detection and autonomous operation. By combining traditional computer vision with cutting-edge deep learning, Vizgard enhances situational awareness, reduces operator workload, and enables faster, more accurate responses to evolving threats in complex environments.
About Sure Valley Ventures (SVV)
SVV is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage AI software companies positioned to make a global impact. Since 2017, the firm has been at the forefront of AI investing, with offices across the UK and Ireland.
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