Abu Dhabi-based Neurovia AI says its software can reduce video file sizes by up to 95%, a capability the company argues will lower storage and processing costs for the extensive camera networks that monitor Saudi Arabia’s holy cities and urban areas. According to Khalifa Mohammed Alshehhi, Neurovia’s chief executive, the smaller files move more quickly through separate AI systems, enabling security personnel to detect fights, weapons or other threats within "milliseconds." He made these remarks in an interview in Riyadh.
How the technology works and data handling
The company developed an algorithm designed to shrink videos so that data can remain on its clients’ systems, including air-gapped networks. Neurovia stresses that it does not retain footage itself and can deploy setups in which the data never leaves the country. At a demonstration at LEAP, a live camera fed both the original and compressed streams to adjacent screens; most attendees found it difficult, if not impossible, to tell the two apart.
Business background and market approach
Neurovia was acquired in June by Nasdaq-listed Robo.ai in a $100 million all-stock transaction. The firm is introducing the new software to the Saudi market this week at LEAP, the technology and AI conference in Riyadh. The company says it has been in talks with government entities and private companies but has not yet secured a Saudi contract. "We would really love to have Mecca and Medina," Alshehhi said, adding that the military, border control and police are other potential customers.
Political and access challenges
Gaining access to some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive video networks would be challenging for any foreign firm, and particularly for one based in Abu Dhabi. Riyadh has pushed businesses that serve the kingdom from the UAE to relocate to Saudi Arabia, and tensions between the two countries have at times shown up as border delays and refused visas. Those strains eased over the summer, with senior officials on both sides emphasizing "brotherly relations," and suggesting that while disputes over Yemen, Sudan and economic rivalry remain, shared security concerns about Iran create common ground.
Practical implications
Neurovia argues that a successful proof of concept within a Saudi government sector would rapidly increase demand. At the LEAP demonstration, spectators leaned in to compare resolutions and in many cases judged the compressed and original feeds to be nearly identical. The company says the combination of reduced storage costs and faster threat detection could be particularly valuable for protecting large crowds of pilgrims and residents in the kingdom’s sacred cities.
