With reports of crime rates rising, security teams understaffed, and false alarms overwhelming traditional systems, the necessity for smarter, more reliable protection has never been more urgent. Stepping up to satisfy this demand, Hakimo, a Menlo Park-based AI security startup, has announced a $10.5 million Series A funding round to supercharge its mission of reworking physical security through autonomous, AI-powered monitoring.
Led by Vertex Ventures and Zigg Capital, with additional backing from RXR Arden Digital Ventures, Defy.vc, and Gokul Rajaram, the most recent round brings Hakimo’s total funding to $20.5 million.
Meet the AI Operator: A Human-Like Autonomous Security Agent
Hakimo has officially launched the AI Operator, a first-of-its-kind autonomous security agent that may monitor cameras, detect intrusions, reply to incidents, and even issue verbal warnings—similar to a human guard. But unlike humans, it never gets drained, never misses a frame, and reacts inside seconds.
This isn’t your standard motion detection software. On the core of the AI Operator is a robust mix of computer vision and generative AI, enabling it to not only see but in addition understand and reply to complex scenarios described in natural language. Whether it’s identifying an individual loitering near a restricted area or detecting tailgating at an access point, Hakimo’s AI is built to interpret and act on security events in real time.
And when incidents escalate, Hakimo’s human-in-the-loop system ensures that trained security professionals step in to handle critical threats—making a seamless synergy between machine intelligence and human judgment.
From Stanford Research to Real-World Impact
Hakimo was founded in 2020 by Sam Joseph and Sagar Honnungar, two Stanford-trained AI researchers who saw a possibility to use the most recent advancements in machine learning to a stagnating industry. Inspired by falling hardware costs, widespread surveillance camera deployment, and breakthroughs in computer vision, they built a team to rethink physical security from the bottom up.
The result? A platform that integrates directly with existing ONVIF-compliant security systems, requires no costly hardware upgrades, and might be deployed across multiple sites in days—not months.
Why Now?
Traditional security approaches are increasingly unsustainable. Guards are expensive, difficult to rent, and sometimes unable to offer consistent coverage. Alarm monitoring services are affected by false positives, causing delays or complete lack of police response. Hakimo’s solution arrives at a time when businesses are demanding real-time, reliable, and reasonably priced protection.
By combining AI speed with human reliability, Hakimo delivers a compelling alternative. For patrons like Kia Santa Maria, the shift was immediate. said Rodrigo Duran, the dealership’s General Manager.
Scaling Across Industries
Hakimo isn’t only for high-security facilities. Its platform is already trusted by greater than 100 customers, including Fortune 500 firms, automotive dealerships, construction sites, corporate offices, and self-storage facilities. The system has monitored over 5 million hours of footage and, in 2024 alone, prevented hundreds of security incidents, assisted law enforcement in arrests, and even saved lives.
From tailgating detection (an often-overlooked physical security threat) to camera health monitoring and automatic alarm triage, Hakimo provides actionable insights that traditional systems simply cannot match. Its software not only detects threats but prioritizes them using True Alarm Probability scores—dramatically reducing false positives and operator fatigue.
A Platform Designed for the Future
Hakimo’s platform is engineered to evolve with its customers. The system can monitor multiple sites concurrently, integrate with software like ServiceNow, Slack, and even cybersecurity SIEM tools, offering a unified interface that bridges the gap between physical and digital security workflows.
It’s a force multiplier for any business trying to cut costs without compromising safety. Actually, customers report annual savings of as much as $125,000 when put next to traditional guard-based security—and with median response times of just six seconds, it is easy to see why.
Investors See a Category-Defining Opportunity
said Piyush Kharbanda, General Partner at Vertex Ventures.
For Ryan Orley, Managing Partner at Zigg Capital, the investment was personal.
The Road Ahead
With fresh funding and growing momentum, Hakimo is poised to steer a change in how organizations approach physical security. Its mission is ambitious: to make security proactive, intelligent, and seamless—eliminating threats before they escalate.
said CEO Sam Joseph.
As threats grow more complex and budgets tighten, the necessity for AI-powered, autonomous security agents like Hakimo’s AI Operator is becoming not only a competitive advantage—but a necessity.
