Why we're building this
Talk to anyone running a shop, a surgery or a town-centre business in the South West and you'll hear the same story. Shoplifting is up. Anti-social behaviour is up. Reports go in and often nothing comes back. Existing CCTV records everything, but on its own it doesn't stop anything, it just gives you evidence after the fact.
We started Observra because there is a gap between what CCTV records and what a business actually needs, which is a system that tells you something is happening while there is still time to act on it. That means AI running on the cameras you already have, an alert on the manager's phone in under a second, and no video ever leaving the building.
Our weapon detection model is trained on over 39,000 annotated images across five threat classes. It runs on a small on-site computer, detects in under 200 milliseconds, and is fully compliant with the UK GDPR and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.
We're launching in 2026 in Liskeard, then across Cornwall and Devon, then the wider UK. Once the UK product is mature, we plan to extend into international markets, starting with parts of Africa where the founding team has deep roots. If you run a business anywhere in the South West and you're tired of watching footage after the fact, we'd like to talk.