Boarding PassSightBit seas a future in revolutionizing lifeguard technology
Boarding Pass
SightBit seas a future in revolutionizing lifeguard technology
The company has raised $2 million to try to prevent the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide - drowning
“Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, as 372,000 people drown every year,” explained Adam Bismut, SightBit Founder and CEO. “The World Health Organization considers drowning to be a curable plague because drownings can and should be prevented. Adding to these facts the growing shortage of lifeguards and the lengthy periods proper lifeguard training requires, it is eminent that there is a great need for SightBit's product.”
SightBit is developing an advanced marine environment detection model for open water, which uses IP cameras to detect currents, waves, and water conditions. The system is powered by deep learning and takes into account water conditions and human/object movements in the water.
The company was founded after Bismut tragically saw someone drowning in the water and, despite everyone’s best efforts, could not save him in time. “SightBit's system covers eight times wider ranges, thus revolutionizing the best practices of lifeguarding services and assisting in making lifeguards' jobs more efficient and more effective,” he added.
The company has raised $2 million and hopes to penetrate the $9 billion lifeguard market by serving anyone from beach agencies, national and regional lifeguarding agencies, national and federal agencies responsible for managing beaches, and national, regional, and local parks organizations, among others.
You can learn more about the company below.
Company Name: SightBit
Sector: AI
Product/Service description:
SightBit is an AI system that reads open waters and provides reliable analytics of all occurrences related to beach safety, site security, and pollutive spills in open water. SightBit's system consists of artificial intelligence and computer vision algorithms that work to analyze video feeds. The analysis is aimed to identify any occurrence in the water and immediately alert lifeguards, first responders, site security, and site managers in order to prevent any disaster from happening.
Founder Bios:
Adam Bismut - Founder and CEO: Adam had led innovation incubators as a Business MBA graduate with a qualification in AI development. Adam was also the one who envisioned SightBit from the beginning. Adam is a leader who dreams big and works hard to make the dream come true. He studied AI thoroughly, in order to understand how to maintain SightBit’s cutting-edge advantages, develop them, and constantly expand to further relevant fields.
Year of Founding: 2020
Last Investment Round: $1 million
Last Investment Stage: Seed
Date of Last Investment: March 2023
Total investment to date: $2 million
Investors (leading and all): Israel Innovation Authority, InNegev Incubator, and angel investors
Current number of employees: 5
Open positions: Computer Vision Engineer, Business Development.
Website:
https://sightbit.com/
How was the idea born?
Our founder and CEO, Adam Bismut, was vacationing with his wife on the beach when he saw a man drowning. There was only one lifeguard stationed on the beach but many people were on it. The lifeguard was occupied handling other bathers in distress and couldn't notice the man who had been drowning. Bathers on the beach ran to the lifeguard and called for his help, but by the time he got to the drowning man, the man was dead.
This event had left a dramatic impact on Adam, who was a lifeguard himself when he was a young man. He asked himself how it could be that lifeguards in the 21st century still use the same tools that they've used since the beginning of the 20th century. He set out to find a solution that will integrate technology into the daily routine of lifeguards and will assist them in managing wide strips of beaches more efficiently.
What is the need for the product?
Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, as 372,000 people drown every year. The World Health Organization considers drowning to be a curable plague because drownings can and should be prevented. Adding to these facts the growing shortage of lifeguards and the lengthy periods proper lifeguard training requires, it is eminent that there is a great need for SightBit's product. SightBit's system provides immediate detections of any occurrence in the water and alerts - loudly and visually - directly to the lifeguards and first responders, thus significantly reducing the response time to each occurrence.
How is it changing the market?
SightBit's technology is disruptive through and through since it is the only technology that its algorithms have proven capable of overcoming the many challenges posed by open water, using video streams for analysis, and providing accurate insights about everything that's happening in each of the sites it is implemented on. Furthermore, SightBit's system covers eight times wider ranges, thus revolutionizing the best practices of lifeguarding services and assisting in making lifeguards' jobs more efficient and more effective.
How big is the market for the product and who are its main customers?
SightBit's market is estimated to be over $9 billion annually in the field of lifeguarding. The main customers are beach agencies, national and regional lifeguarding agencies, national and federal agencies who are responsible for managing beaches, national, regional, and local parks organizations, home-owners associations, summer camps, hotels, and reserves, and other private and public sector organizations that are responsible for the management of beaches next to oceans, seas, lakes, reservoirs, and other open water sites.
Does the product exist already? If not - at what stage is it and when is it expected to hit the market?
The product already exists and is operational in several locations such as the beaches of Tel Aviv, Ashdod, national marine facilities near the sea, and in several countries in the world such as New York, Brazil, California, and Canada.
Who are the main competitors in this sector and how big are they?
SightBit has created the world's first advanced marine environment detection model for open water, which utilizes only IP cameras, to detect currents, waves, and water conditions. The system is powered by deep learning and is the only system that takes into account water conditions and human/object movements in the water.
What is the added value that the founders bring to the company and the product?
Adam, our founder, brings a healthy combination of capabilities that serve as added value for the company and the product: First, he is a visionary, and he always believes in the unbelievable. Of course, it's helpful that he works tirelessly to stay up-to-date with everything that's happening in all the relevant fields of SightBit's work - whether it's developments in AI, new breakthroughs in the field of robotics, the various and ever-growing usages of joys of open water, the threat of climate change and its effects on open water and human-water interface, and more. Adam is well-connected and he's also a people person, so he makes new connections all the time. His experience and knowledge as a lifeguard contribute significantly both to the refinement of SightBit's system's tasks and also to the connections we make with lifeguards and personnel everywhere, who instantly recognize a friend and a colleague in him.
Itamar Gur, our CTO, is the man who makes the dream come true and turns Adam's vision into an accurate and reliable reality. Itamar is a long-time explorer of the programming world, with a special emphasis on AI and computer vision. He is curious and zealous in his quest for the best, most efficient solutions. He's an experienced DevOps engineer, a master Cloud engineer, and the best riddle-solver one can hope to encounter.
What will the money raised during the current investment round be used for?
The money coming in from the round will be used for further R&D that will enable the expansion of SightBit's system to apply to more fields and scenarios, as well as further develop automation capabilities in order to expand the autonomous beach sector. It will also be used for Marketing, which will enable SightBit's penetration of new markets throughout the world. These two goals will be achieved through the expansion of the team and therefore, the money will also be used for personnel.
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