Col8 is a next-generation video delivery platform. Our tools combine video with data, providing an intuitive interface to explore and understand video content at scale.
, 
Charles Smith – CEO
Jack Dyrhauge – Business Development Manager
ELEVATOR PITCH
Imagine you were searching the internet through Google but it only bought back the titles of webpages and nothing from any of the other rich content – think about how hard it would be to find literally anything. Well, that is how hard it is to use video at the moment, we know the names of files and when it was taken but very little else.
At Col8 our mission is to make video more powerful by bringing together data recorded from any source to give better context and then find the important parts faster.
OUR STORY
Our story: How does the idea born in the mountains of California for an extreme sports video platform now help sectors like security and defence protect people around the world?
Like many new ventures, it was formed by a couple of people annoyed with a problem in an area they are passionate about, the same is true for Col8. Founded in 2016 by Charles and Rupert in Bristol to help them share the GoPro footage they were recording on their adventures. After exploring the sports tech market for a year we began asking the question “Is video hard to use for other markets?”, the answer being a resounding yes. Exploring areas from Marketing to Oil & Gas we found the basic problem with video is simply getting to the important parts faster.
, 
Rose Nichols – Senior Developer
Rupert Jabelman – CTO
Once we realised this, our eyes were opened to a world of possibilities where our technology could help. With prior experience in the defence sector, we decided this was the area we would begin trying to make a fundamental difference to.
Receiving our first outside investment in early 2019 we were fortunate to begin a partnership with defence consultancy Techmodal to bring the power of our technology and their industry experience to market. This has led us to areas we never even imagined; Like helping the army maintain equipment more efficiently by combining the onboard video with sensor data from the vehicles; Through to using drone detection sensors on our platform combined with city-wide CCTV networks to help quickly find and stop malicious pilots.
We are often asked what makes us and our product special, for us it is a straight forward answer. Most high tech startups want to build the flashiest thing with the latest craze but often forget the whole world is filled with equipment and people that can’t change instantly. We build with the customers in mind and how we can bring them benefits to problems using what they already have.
An analogy we always like to use is most startups are trying to build the “Tesla’s” of AI but no one wants to build the road networks these new tools will travel on. It is probably because it is genuinely hard work, it is
optimising the movement of data, it is finding the cheapest way to get to an answer without having to use massive computing power. The key to the future for us is building these efficient networks so video and data can move from source to processor and beyond, and we want to be the platform that everything runs on.
