The UK government’s £500m VC fund investing in domestic AI startups today said it was investing in a British startup which leverages AI technology to update Britain's surveillance network.
The Sovereign AI Fund is investing in Augur, which says its AI tech can transform fragmented sensor networks into a real‑time intelligence layer for national security and public safety.
The startup, whose founders include two former Palantir executives, says its tech, which is used by Transport for London, can help improve security and monitor crowds.
Unlike traditional CCTV, which records footage for later review, Augur aims to improve security teams' ability to identify risks as they develop.
The Sovereign AI Fund, said: "We are partnering with Augur because Britain needs this capability and should own it. The infrastructure is already here. The technology that helps keep us safe should be built here too, by a team that has shown that better security and privacy can go together.”
The fund also said it was giving Augur access to Isambard-AI, the UK's most powerful AI supercomputer, which Augur will use to train large, complex multi-camera datasets. In June, Augur raised $15 million in a seed round led by Plural.
The fund did not disclose the specific amount it was investing in Augur. Generally speaking, the fund is investing cheques of between £5m and £10m, leading and following on investing rounds, usually investing in Seed and Series A.
It is investing in areas ranging from AI model development to AI drug discovery to agentic AI.
It has invested in the AI infrastructure startup Callosum, AI startup designer Olix and AI drug discovery company Isomorphic Labs.