SINGAPORE, 6 May 2022 – Homegrown security tech firm Oneberry Technologies has opened a new 20,000 sq ft regional headquarters in Sims Drive that will house its research and development lab, along with functioning as a second command centre.

The firm is also looking to fill about 30 job vacancies at the new HQ, including for technical roles such as software developers. Oneberry makes robotic “virtual guards” and uses Arvas, a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) platform, to monitor and analyse surveillance footage. It has deployed over 1,500 virtual guards in Singapore.

Speaking at the opening of the new seven-storey Oneberry building on Friday (May 6), the company’s chief executive Ken Pereira said a second command centre was necessary to ensure business continuity in the event of disruptions, for instance power outages, at the first command centre in Pemimpin Drive.

Oneberry also needed a larger space, upgraded infrastructure and more staff as it looks to expand in the region. Mr Pereira said the company current serves clients in 12 countries, including Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, and is aiming to make that 30 countries this year. Oneberry uses AI to detect anomalies in surveillance footage, thus making human monitoring of locations redundant. Examples of anomalies include people fighting, loitering or entering certain premises after hours.

Staff at the command centres are then alerted and human guards can be dispatched to the location if necessary. Using AI has been key to the firm’s expansion, Mr Pereira noted, as it would have been impossible to scale up the business using the traditional, labour-intensive, approach: having security guards monitor the footage themselves, write observation reports, and patrol the sites.

Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary, who was at the launch, said digitalisation is no longer merely good; it is necessary. “Businesses today require a certain agility. They need to be able to evolve in the face of constant disruption,” he said. “Today’s solutions may not be valid very soon.” Dr Janil cited the effects of recent geopolitical tensions, such as rising commodity prices, continued technological disruption and persistent uncertainty over the global economic recovery from Covid-19. He noted that Oneberry’s early adoption of digital technologies enabled it to seize new opportunities amid the pandemic. “I am glad to see what Oneberry has become: from a homegrown enterprise which started as a traditional security agency (it has evolved) to an innovative enterprise providing integrated security and surveillance technologies.”

Oneberry on Friday also announced the launch of a new cyber security product called Invisiron. Mr Pereira said the firm has been using the product for its own cyber defence for the last four years and is now ready to offer it to clients. Invisiron helps block attempted cyber attacks against Oneberry, of which there are over 20,000 daily, he added. It can also automatically update itself against new threats in real time, so clients without cyber security experience can use it out of the box, Mr Pereira said.

Source: The Straits Times