Israeli facial technology startup Oosto, originally called AnyVision, has parted company with many of its senior managers in recent weeks, sources familiar with the matter have told "Globes." The company changed its name in 2021 after criticism of the use of its facial recognition technology and has since adopted a new strategic focus.
Among those who have left are VP finance Osnat Levy, chief marketing officer Dean Nicolls, VP AI Marios Savvides, and VP research Jarno Ralli, who among other things led joint research with Carnegie Mellon University, which ended in April. The research, which began in 2021, sought to make use of analyzing facial expressions for commercial applications.
In addition sales staff for the Middle East and Africa have been laid off or transferred to other departments. Out of 95 employees, 10 have been laid off.
Last week Oosto told employees that it had been awarded new facial recognition technology projects in Dubai and Qatar, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Despite this, sources say that the company has not been successful in increasing its market share in the sector in the region.
Oosto sold its security activities to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems three years ago following criticism levelled at it after its systems were used by the security authorities in Israel to monitor the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria and at the checkpoints between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. In 2020, Microsoft decided tohalt its operations in the company and sell its minority holdings in it, although it continued to sell Oosto's civilian products.
Oosto also operates in the commercial sector
Oosto has also been operating in the commercial sector for many years and has even made improvements to its product in order to adapt to the strict privacy requirements in Europe and the US. The company has announced the signing of agreements with a horse racing stadium in Australia and with casinos in Las Vegas and Oklahoma as well as with a number of airports, seaports and commercial buildings. At the same time, Oosto has been striving to work with government authorities in the Middle East.
Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who joined investor SoftBank almost two years ago, said about Oosto at a conference it held for clients in December 2021. He said, "Facial recognition is a key tool in dealing with security threats for governments and private companies." Cohen argued that collecting biometric data, such as a fingerprint, requires the consent of the suspect and is not as effective as facial recognition in identification in the field. As far as is known, Cohen himself is not involved in the company's activities despite his connection to Softbank.
SoftBank, the major investor behind Oosto, has led many changes in the management of its portfolio companies in recent months due to the tech crisis, and the losses it itself recorded. In February, it announced losses of $6 billion in the last quarter of 2022 - the fourth quarter in a row in which the Japanese investment giant recorded heavy losses. At the same time, this is a decrease in losses compared to the third quarter, in which SoftBank recorded a loss of $10 billion.
Other Israeli startups in SoftBank's portfolio hit by the crisis include Rapid (formerly RapidAPI), whose founder and CEO Iddo Gino was forced to leave.
Oosto said, "The company has made a number of changes in its workforce to adapt to macroeconomic trends, just as many other companies have done. At the same time, the company did not change its areas of focus, including the markets and customers it addresses, which include, among others, financial institutions, ports, entities in the field of hospitality, and more. The company has not established any new security activities. SoftBank is an important and significant investor in the company, which invested in the company in 2021. The company is under the management of Avi Golan, who has served as CEO since November 2020."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 2, 2023.
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