Saagar Govil: Reinventing the world of security with AI

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Saagar Govil, Chairman and CEO of Cemtrex Incorporated. With a tenacious spirit and an unwavering focus, Saagar has led Cemtrex from its initial days of making under $3M in revenues to a thriving powerhouse raking in over $100M, with over 350 employees in 6 offices worldwide.Under Saagar's vision and leadership, Cemtrex is a diversified technology company that's relentlessly driving innovation in an array of sectors, including smart technology, virtual and augmented realities, advanced electronic systems, industrial solutions, and, most intriguing, intelligent security systems powered by AI.In this episode, they dive into the world of AI and security and explore Saagar's inspiring journey, mission, and passion for technologies, from IoT to space tech. KEY TAKEAWAYS Cemtrex started out as a small family business and over the last 10 years we’ve focussed on driving growth. We started out as a small environmental technology company and we struggled to grow in that industry because the appetite for that in the market has only come to fruition recently. I figured out the best way to grow was through acquisitions of businesses that had bigger potential, because you get more reward for the hard work you put in. We’re seeing a transformation of the security industry as we look to adopt and implement AI systems into the market. The unique thing about what’s happening today is that for the first time ever computers can now see better than humans. What that allows is for companies to use and leverage technologies in a way that’s never been possible before to drive better security outcomes. That could be from preventing incidents from happening to responding to them better in real time and to more accurately apprehend the suspects after an event occurs. CCTV cameras with advanced features in the past used to be triggered by motion and they would trigger events, alarms, etc. The challenge with that is that if a tree is swaying in the background it could trigger these alarms which is frustrating for operators. With the advent of AI you can track specific objects more accurately and clearly so that if a certain asset in the frame is moved then send an alert. That solution is really easy to implement out of the box today. Unfortunately, the world is more and more dangerous. 90-95% of schools have CCTV and yet we’re still hearing about mass shootings taking place all the time and it’s a tragedy. This tells me that a) the basic tools are already installed and b) they are actually not that effective. The ways we can implement AI today to drive better outcomes is apparent in that we can do better with identity management using facial recognition, we can track who should be at school at a certain time, we can send out the right alerts  if there is a disgruntled person on the premises or tap into sex offender databases to alert the authorities that they’re on the perimeter. BEST MOMENTS‘Sometimes it’s not about how hard you work, it’s about where you’re spending your time and your effort.’‘AI is definitely going to make businesses and specific assets safer.’‘When you have a security co-pilot that can understand what’s going on on the video feeds you can start to interact with that GPT/co-pilot, you can manage security needs much faster or in real time, that’s where we’re going to see the industry moving in the next couple of years.’‘There are ways to build these types of technologies that maximise people’s privacy but also ensure the safety of those that are occupying the space at any given point in time.’ ABOUT THE GUESTSaagar Govil is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cemtrex Inc., a company that owns and operates multiple businesses building industrial solutions and intelligent security systems. Saagar is a serial entrepreneur interested in IoT, Wearables, Robotics, Advanced electronics, and Space Tech. In his leisure time he enjoys watching the Knicks, golfing, travelling, and sailing.CemtrexCemtrex, Inc. is a diversified technology company that's driving innovation in a wide range of sectors, including smart technology, virtual and augmented realities, advanced electronic systems, industrial solutions, and intelligent security systems. Cemtrex Inc. owns and operates multiple businesses and they are building industrial solutions and intelligent security systems.Website: www.cemtrex.com ABOUT THE HOST Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew, a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, & commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers & accelerating over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.  Twitter: SabineVdLLinkedIn: Sabine VanderLindenInstagram: sabinevdLofficialFacebook: SabineVdLOfficialTikTok: sabinevdlofficialEmail: podcast@sabinevdl.comWebsite: www.sabinevdl.com