The digital world has already become much smarter thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, and now a startup called Firefly Technology Inc. wants to do the same for the physical world, beginning with workplace safety.

It has just raised $20 million in funding via a Series A round to make that happen. Today’s round was led by Definition Capital, which previously funded Ramp Business Corp. and Cognition Inc., developer of the AI coding assistant Devin. It was joined by BoxGroup, making its third investment in Firefly, and Susa Ventures, which led the startup’s seed round earlier this year.

Firefly’s goal is to make the world a safer place, and it believes it can do that by extending AI into the physical world to make safety systems more intelligent. Though devices such as security cameras, radios and sensors have helped make locations such as schools, hospitals and other venues safer than they used to be, there’s still a lot of disconnect between these systems. Cameras can see what’s happening, radios can facilitate communication between security personnel and sensors can trigger alarms, but these devices all work in isolation.

What this means is that when something happens, humans still need to waste valuable time understanding the situation before they can put together a response.

Firefly co-founder and Chief Executive James Batt Buckley believes AI can help to close this gap. He says the next frontier for AI is the physical world, which he wants to become as intelligent, connected and programmable as the digital one already is. His idea is to build a single, intelligent system that spans security cameras, sensors and communications, so that AI will immediately understand what’s happening and coordinate a response the moment the alarm registers within the brains of the humans tasked with executing that response.

The startup has developed a combination of purpose-built safety hardware and emergency response management software that’s designed to plug into existing hardware such as cameras and radios. The Ember Safety Management platform works by extracting intelligence from those devices and sensors to build up a clear picture of what the situation is, so it can immediately detect an incident, provide the right context and then organize the response. Firefly has also developed specialized hardware such as wearable panic buttons and AI beacons that enable panic button triangulation and detect gunshots, as well as a network gateway to ensure those systems are always connected.

Buckley said the safety technology industry has seemingly accepted a very strange contradiction. “The more important the job, the more complicated the tools seem to become,” he said. “But we now have the technology to build something fundamentally different. We’re starting with safety because it’s a problem we know deeply, but what we’re building has the potential to transform how people interact with the physical world.”

Constellation Research analyst said startups like Firefly are a reminder that AI is going to impact a lot more than just our digital experiences. “Ultimately, AI is going to have a dramatic impact on the physical world too, with one of the first being to improve physical safety in places like schools, hospitals and other large venues,” he said.

The analyst believes AI has obvious advantages over humans when it comes to monitoring a physical area for signs of danger, because it’s always on, always focused and therefore much more vigilant than any human security guard could be. “It will provide more timely and reliable alerts to any malfeasance,” Mueller said. “As with any AI innovation, a degree of cautiousness is still needed to make sure Firefly’s systems work as intended, but any teething problems can probably be ironed out. It’s good to see the innovation helping to keep schools and the kids inside them safe.”

Firefly’s platform has already been deployed by Colorado’s largest community college, Front Range Community College, where it provides unified intelligence across three expansive campuses, helping safety teams to quickly understand emergencies and take action. The startup now wants to expand its deployments, targeting educational centers, hospitals, enterprise campuses and other locations.

Definition Capital’s Teddy Citrin said the intersection of AI and hardware means organizations now have better ways to protect their people. “Firefly is building the central nervous system for physical safety, bringing together specialized hardware, existing data and coordinated action into a single platform,” he said.

Image: Firefly