Costa Mesa-based artificial intelligence company Veritone Inc. sees the possibility of more work on U.S. Air Force programs after the company was awarded $1.3 million in subcontracts to enhance the analysis of satellite pictures.
Veritone’s (Nasdaq: VERI) aiWare will provide artificial intelligence technology and services to help the Air Force increase the speed and accuracy of analysis of satellite images. The deal was announced on Sept. 17.
Jon Gacek, the company’s head of government, legal and compliance, said the system will help to identify objects including ships on the ocean, airplanes on the runways, trucks and other vehicles.
To further illustrate the system, Gacek said imagine there are, for example, 200,000 photographs, and officials are looking for each image with a helicopter in it.
“Instead of having the human flip through all 200,000, you’ll just run those photographs through aiWARE and it will identify everywhere there’s a helicopter and identify those photographs,” Gacek told the Business Journal the day the subcontracts were announced. He said a human could then look at the images that were singled out.
‘Massive Win’
While the size of the initial subcontracts wasn’t huge, the potential for further dealings with the Air Force means “this is a massive win for Veritone aiWare,” Gacek said.
“If we are successful in proving our ability to help the U.S. Air Force increase the speed and accuracy of satellite-based imagery analysis, this could establish a foundation for broader adoption of our AI operating system throughout this branch of our military,” according to Gacek.
He adds: “This broader adoption could include other types of imagery such as those from aircraft, personnel on the ground as well as other sources of intelligence, all with the goal of keeping our in-theater personnel safe, while expediting the successful execution of their missions.”
An Irvine-based company known as alYnmnt is Veritone’s partner on the current Air Force project.
“They are providing both capital and the entrepreneurial side of it” and “we’re providing the technology,” Gacek said.
“The current subcontracts are for what the Air Force categorizes as a Phase II investment or a ‘medium-sized bet.’ Similar to the strategy of public sector venture capitalists, the Air Force anticipates some of their ‘bets’ will prove beneficial and warrant future ‘Phase III’ expanded investment,” Gacek said.
Air Force Innovation
AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation unit, awarded the Phase II contract under the Small Business Innovation Research program to prime contractor alYnmnt.
Shares in Veritone, co-founded and run by brothers Ryan Steelberg and Chad Steelberg jumped some 15% in the two days after the subcontracts in the Air Force project were announced. The company’s stock has more than tripled since the start of the year and the shares were trading at nearly $9 apiece as of last week for a market cap of $250 million.
Veritone has offices in Denver, London, New York and San Diego in addition to its Costa Mesa headquarters.
