security-screening
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Evolv Sold the End of Security Lines. Then Reality Walked Through the Scanner
The Boston-area company turned the security checkpoint into a subscription business used by schools, hospitals and stadiums. Its next act depends on proving that speed, detection and sober claims can finally travel together.
Athena Security Inc.
Athena Security is an Austin-based physical-security company that builds AI-powered concealed weapons detection and visitor management systems for schools, hospitals, casinos, businesses and public venues. Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneurs Lisa Falzone and Chris Ciabarra (the pair behind iPad point-of-sale pioneer Revel Systems), Athena combines walk-through metal detection, thermal imaging, lidar, cameras and machine learning to screen roughly one person per second - up to 3,600 people an hour - without asking anyone to empty their pockets or bags. Its flagship Apollo 500 system uses colored light boxes to show operators exactly where a suspected weapon is on the body, and its screening-compliance software helps organizations meet a growing patchwork of state security laws.
Cambridge Terahertz
Cambridge Terahertz is an MIT spinout building a chip-based imaging system that combines the 3D vision of lidar with the see-through power of X-ray, but using human-safe terahertz waves at a thousandth the power of a cell phone. Shrunk from an airport-scale scanner into a palm-sized, two-pound device, its AI-powered sensors detect concealed weapons through clothing and bags, and can see inside sealed packages without opening them. Founded in 2023 by MIT PhD Nathan Monroe, the company raised a $12M seed round led by Felicis with participation from Amazon's Industrial Innovation Fund.