Asilla, Inc. and SECOM CO., LTD. formed a capital and business alliance in September 2022. The alliance aims to link the behavior-recognition AI technology being developed independently by Asilla to the value enhancement of the SECOM Group's security services and the creation of new services. Currently, the two companies are developing individual services in response to customer needs, focusing on areas that combine AI and security.
In order to meet the diversifying needs of society, SECOM CO., LTD. has been focusing on the fusion of ideas and technologies from both inside and outside the company, and is working on open innovation as an extension of this effort. Mr. Hasegawa explained, "We provide services that contribute to safety and security, not only in the area of security, but also in a wide range of other areas such as medical, disaster prevention, and BPO/ICT.”
SECOM began working on open innovation because, according to Hasegawa, "While values in the world are diversifying these days, new technologies such as robots, AI, and drones are emerging, and it was taking too long to incorporate new technologies through internal activities alone.” In 2015, the company established a new cross-departmental organization called the Open Innovation Promotion Department and began its activities.
SECOM is currently developing "SECOM Open Lab" as a place to discuss social issues that lead to safety and security with people with various values, including other companies, research institutions, and students, and is promoting efforts to deepen relationships with external parties while exploring changes in society. “We believe that ILS is just one of the initiatives to deepen our relationship with the outside world. As we continued our research on companies with various imaging technologies, we met Asilla, Inc. when they applied for our theme in the TOKYO CHALLENGE 100*.” said Mr.Hasegawa.
*Collaborative matching contest held at ILS in 2021.
Founded in June 2015, with headquarters in Japan and a development center in Vietnam, Asilla, Inc. develops and sells Asilla, an AI security system for facilities released in January 2022, and provides behavior recognition AI solutions. The behavior recognition AI detects "uncomfortable behavior" that deviates from normal behavior, making it possible to detect signs of an incident or accident. “Our behavior recognition AI was not yet well-known to the world, and we were facing the challenge of figuring out how to fit in with our customers," said Kimura. We were looking for a company that could service our technology and sell our services in cooperation with us.
Furthermore, Asilla, Inc. decided to participate in ILS because startups are small and not well known, and they can make contacts with large companies. Mr. Kimura said, "ILS is very efficient because large companies have clear objectives, and we can contact them with the hypothesis that we might be able to collaborate with them, which makes it easier to get the conversation going.”
One of the technological advantages of the company's behavior recognition AI is the acquisition, accumulation, and analysis of behavior data taken by live people at filming facilities in Vietnam, which has been ongoing since 2017. Even in the case of the Corona disaster, data collection was not delayed because the filming facility was located in Vietnam, where behavioral restrictions were relatively loose. For this reason, they are proud to say that our "basic technology is world-class" (Mr. Kimura). Based on this technological backing, Asilla, Inc. sought a company with capital strength and a large number of customers as a partner with which to utilize its AI. In March 2021, the company sent a "love call" to SECOM.
Asilla, Inc. and SECOM CO., LTD. formed a capital and business alliance in September 2022. SECOM utilizes video analysis technology in a variety of products and services, including online security systems. SECOM evaluated the high performance of the behavior recognition AI developed and provided by Asilla, as well as its practicality in running on low-spec computers and image processing equipment.
Mr. Hasegawa of Secom explained, "Although we are currently investing in Asilla, the essence of the relationship between our two companies is not to invest in Asilla, but to create new services together. We would like to create new products and services together to solve social issues," he said. Mr. Kimura of Asilla also expressed his expectations, saying, "We have been talking with Secom in several areas, and we are very much looking forward to the future.”
The collaboration between the two companies is based on a long-term perspective, as Mr. Hasegawa says, "We have a high regard for the technology that Asilla is researching, and we feel that Asilla is a reliable partner as a company," regarding Asilla's technology, which aims to become the world's number one in behavior recognition AI. SECOM and Asilla are seeking to provide optimal solutions and other proposals tailored to each customer's situation, while regularly exchanging information and technology in their technical divisions.
For example, "If there is a request from a customer to combine a camera and AI for a new application, both companies may consult with each other on the technical details, and we have actually had several discussions. We are also considering brushing up services developed for individual customers and commercializing them as general services," said Hasegawa. Mr. Kimura of Asilla says, "We will focus on the part of the technology that SECOM expects from us and continue to improve our technology.” We will aim to implement the latest technology in society, such as by promoting advanced AI in various fields.
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First of all, the ILS is characterized by its large scale, which allows for a wide range of companies to get acquainted with. In addition, the startups that enter the competition are all companies that have been selected by a variety of people who are discerning. This allows us to proceed with discussions from a high stage, and we gain new insights from the startups, such as proposals that are beyond our imagination.
Startups are basically in a situation where they lack internal resources, so it is gratifying to be able to talk to large companies in an efficient manner. Moreover, many of the people who come to our meetings are directly responsible for open innovation, so the conversations proceed quickly. Each time we exchange information with a wide variety of customers, and we feel that it is highly effective.
