Black Founder Reinvest Profits Into AI-Powered Gun Detection Tech To Empower Communities
Vennard Wright is reinvesting profits into PerVista, an AI-powered gun detection technology to reduce gun violence.
Wright founded Wave Welcome – an IT management company – in 2020 to deliver technology and cybersecurity services that empower dynamic organizations.
It makes money from managing internal IT systems of businesses, universities, and government organizations, then invests profits into its own side projects.
Wave Welcome is now working on a gun detection tech project, PerVista.
Gun Detection Tech
PerVista recognizes the increasing importance of digital security and built a solution to consolidate essential tools, services, and professionals into a single platform.
The Maryland startup is using AI and drones to tackle America’s gun violence epidemic with a system it says can alert police to an armed intruder and deliver a livestream before any bystander calls 911.
PerVista’s proprietary AI monitors IP-enabled security cameras and continually searches for visual matches to firearms.
If the tech identifies a weapon, it automatically sends SMS texts, email notifications, and video footage to Wave Welcome and the client’s predesigned parties.
It intends to reduce the number and intensity of active shootings in the US.
The startup is available for commercial use in Washington DC and Baltimore regions and will expand across the US next year.
Schools, office buildings, sports venues, concerts, and shopping malls are the current market for the technology.
“Anywhere there are a lot of people in one place, the technology would be relevant,” he said.
Read: HBCU Student Receives $25K From Pharrell Williams For Gun Safety Tech Startup
Helping Communities Tackle Gun Violence
Recently, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) asked the US Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate the deployment of the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system in Black neighborhoods.
This followed a number of concerns, such as being triggered by fireworks rather than gunshots and being implemented in predominately Black neighborhoods.
Wright, however, stands out as one of the few Black founders in the AI space and someone who is also addressing the issue of gun violence that impacts minority communities.
He began working on the tech after an incident of gun violence hit close to home, sparking conversation about how to address similar situations in the future.
In its testing, PerVista correctly identified 100% of weapons that appeared on camera, with a consistent confidence level of 90%, depending on the lighting or physical barriers obstructing the view, Wright told Fortune.
