Tenyks' pioneering AI video tech delivers big gains for retail and hospitality firms

CCTV data analysis developed by AI tech star Tenyks is putting the mojo back into physical locations as it delivers millions more in productivity, revenue and reputational gains for retail and hospitality firms. Easing the strain on site managers, the one stop shop platform, with subscriptions from £100 a month, reveals the big picture so they immediately know what's going on, where and when. New trends are identified and fixes become faster while integration with existing systems is seamless requiring no new outlay on servers and hardware.

Co-founder of the Cambridge spin-out Dr Botty Dimanov explains: "Cameras are the richest but most under-used source of operational insight - just one per cent of video data is analysed. We help teams discover previously unseen operational, service quality, workforce utilisation or other commercial opportunities in the feeds."

Comprehensive insights cover service speeds, order accuracy, compliance with food hygiene processes and optimising store layouts. Capturing shoplifting weak spots is high on the radar with the benefit of preventing incorrect accusations.

Analysis of visits builds greater understanding about demographics and customer mood, for example how people respond to changes making promotions such as offering different menus at different times more relevant. Tenyks' multiple insights have put it on course for a forecast £4 million plus turnover in 2026/27. Further applications in healthcare, education and logistics are part of its longer-term plan.

The patent-protected innovation has taken six years to develop. "The integration of our visual AI agents takes just minutes and millions of hours of data analysis made in seconds. Users can interact with our dashboard, ask questions or provide prompts," says Dimanov. "The pandemic led to demand for convenience with restaurants looking to better utilise space and do more with less, including dependency on manual oversight. This has made Tenyks very relevant. Now AI's costs are reducing, our technology has become more accessible and scalable. Currently it analysing 25,000 cameras annually."

Clients usually check a couple of times a week and when there's any problems hourly. Well suited to businesses in the Quick Service Restaurant market an early Tenyks' adopter is Burger King which found shaving one second off service time during peak periods can yield £22,300 for each restaurant annually.

Almost £3 million investment has been raised so far. A new round by end of this year will aim to expand Tenyks' markets domestically, in the US, Canada, Brazil and Dubai and increase staff numbers to 30. "AI is more associated with white collar professions, but we are showing how it can make a huge difference to bricks and mortar," observes Dimanov, a dedicated entrepreneur who studied for an AI doctorate at Cambridge with the express ambition of building businesses.

Cambridge has delivered, both for its first-rate connections and intellectual culture. "It taught me about the power of posing the right question," he adds "We're focussed on a future where visual data becomes as central to business decision making as spreadsheets once were."

And for those who appreciate cryptic wordplay, Tenyks's name pays homage with a twist to Terminator's super intelligence system Skynet - spelled backwards. www.tenyks.ai